Joe Manganiello is not optimistic about his Deathstroke returning to the ongoing DC live-action film universe. Often dubbed the DCEU (DC Extended Universe), this shared universe started with Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel and is lived on through his Justice League film, which is where Deathstroke debuted.
Joe Manganiello’s Deathstroke first appeared during the post-credits scene of both cuts of the Justice League film (though the scenes varied in both). It was originally intended to be a lead-in to the now-cancelled Batman solo film that would’ve starred Ben Affleck. The script supposedly had Deathstroke as the main antagonist and he would be tormenting Batman throughout the whole film after learning his secret identity.
Of course, many now know that Matt Reeves is directing the upcoming film titled The Batman, which stars Robert Pattinson as the Caped Crusder and is meant to serve as its own story (separate from the DCEU). Big Little Lies star Zoe Kravitz, Paul Dano, and Jeffrey Wright will also be starring in the film as Catwoman, Riddler, and Commissioner Gordon, respectively. Manganiello’s Deathstorke will, unfortunately, not be making an appearance in the upcoming Batman film and if there was any hope of seeing his character return down the road, the actor simply said to ComingSoon.net, “No, I let that go a while ago.”
With the drama behind Joss Whedon, the mistreatment of Zack Snyder during his family tragedy, and the disrepct towards the talent on set, many of the actors and creators have walked away from DC altogether, which is why its future is left up in the air. Manganiello at one point was campaigning heavily to get Deathstroke to return. After so much time has passed without hearing anything new, the actor (just like many viewers) eventually gave up their hope and chalked this up as a lost cause.
It’s a shame that all of the work and planning put into these roles never came to fruition because it means the actors never got to see the vision that they were sold. While it sucks for all talent involved, the people who lost the most was the fans. The comic book community is very passionate about these stories and characters, so it’s a shame certain plans fell through.
Hopefully fans get to see more of what Manganiello’s Deathstroke could’ve been. The actor was the perfect fit for the deadly assassin and it seemed that both him as well as Affleck were taking heavy inspiration from the Arkham Origins trailer, where Deathstroke and Batman were fighting on the rooftops of Gotham (which many fans love watching to this day). Only time will tell what happens.
Source: Coming Soon
