Joe Manganiello came super close to having a major role in the DC film universe back in 2016. When the actor was signed to portray Deathstroke in “Justice League,” it was assumed that he would film a small part for that feature and then become a major player in the forthcoming “The Batman” and then potentially his own solo film directed by Gareth Evans. But along the way everything fell apart. That said, it appears that the actor is going to be able to play his version of Deathstroke one more time in the forthcoming “Justice League” director’s cut. However, according to the actor, there were a lot of speed bumps between his initial signing and the release of Zack Snyder’s upcoming redo.
According to a new interview with the Happy. Sad. Confused. podcast, Joe Manganiello said the problems with his future in the DCEU began shortly after he filmed his role in “Justice League.” He found out that Ben Affleck’s version of “The Batman” fell apart, and thus, his role in the film evaporated.
“Six months later I got notification that ‘Batman’ wasn’t going to happen,” Manganiello explained.
But even though “The Batman” fell apart, Manganiello was still hoping that his “Deathstroke” solo film, from director Gareth Evans (“The Raid”), would still happen. Unfortunately, in a pre-“Joker” world, the idea of a villain-focused superhero film wasn’t in the cards.
“When the dust settled, it was not seen as a priority to make a $40 million movie about a villain origin story in which you show the backstory,” he said.
So, “The Batman” fell apart and “Deathstroke” wasn’t ever given the green light. That left Manganiello’s hope for reprising his role as the deadly assassin in the hands of David Ayer’s “Suicide Squad” sequel. Well, as we now know, with Ayer being replaced by James Gunn and that filmmaker completely overhauling the franchise, Manganiello was once again out of luck.
The actor said, “There were four or five different versions of ‘Suicide Squad 2’ that I was put on hold for, for dates, waiting for one actor to free up and we were going to go.”
At the end of the day, it appears that the totality of the actor’s Deathstroke character appearing in DC films will be limited to a re-edited tease at the end of Joss Whedon’s “Justice League” and then a more fleshed out appearance in Zack Snyder’s “Justice League.” That’s a damn shame, as Deathstroke is a great character in the DC Universe and Manganiello is an underrated actor. Maybe there’s hope for a future project? We’ll just have to wait and see.
Here’s Manganiello’s Deathstroke appearance in “Justice League”: