Joe Manganiello reveals Deathstroke would have killed a few famous supporting characters in Ben Affleck's The Batman. Affleck's Batman film was first announced in 2014, but Affleck eventually stepped down from directing and acting in the movie. The project shifted into the upcoming The Batman starring Robert Pattinson, which will take place on another an Earth separate from the DCEU.

Many fans have wondered what the project would have looked like had Affleck stayed onboard the project, with tidbits being released since the announcement. It was originally confirmed that Manganiello would be playing the main villain, Deathstroke, in the film with a moment at the end of Justice League setting up that storyline. It was recently revealed that Affleck's Batman film would have also introduced Batgirl into the DCEU, presumably setting up the planned Batgirl film the studio announced in 2017.

Related: What Ben Affleck's Solo Batman Movie Was About (Snyder Cut Setup)

In an interview at Justice Con, Manganiello revealed more story details about Affleck's film and said it would have included the deaths of some Batman supporting characters. He points out that these characters showed up in the films, hinting at characters seen in both the DCEU films and other staple Batman characters. While he clarifies a script was never finalized, these characters were set to die and clean the slate for future films in the early drafts of the projects. Manganiello said:

"Some of the regular Batman characters that show up in the films were not going to make it through. It would have been a cleaning house in a lot ways"

Slade Wilson/Deathstroke

While the characters aren't specified, the most likely candidates are Alfred and Commissioner Gordon. Alfred, who is played by Jeremy Irons in the DCEU, is one of Batman's most iconic supporting characters. Given that he had already appeared in Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League, his death would have left an impact on the audience. Commissioner Gordon, who was introduced in Justice League played by J.K Simmons, would be a death that would not only hit Bruce Wayne hard but also his daughter Barbara Gordon aka Batgirl. Given Batgirl's role in the film, the death could have served as the inciting incident for her becoming a crime fighter.

Killing off Alfred and Commissioner Gordon fits in line with the DCEU's tendency to kill off believed supporting characters to a heroes mythology, like Jimmy Olson in Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice. While this would have generated a certain amount of anger, their deaths make a certain amount of sense. Both Alfred and Gordon were major parts of The Dark Knight trilogy and were both major characters on the then-running series Gotham. The DCEU then could have made its version of Batman different than other big-screen incarnations by going against tradition and embracing lesser-known characters. The Batman films could have added a vast array of obscure supporting characters to the films to make the DCEU Batman exciting and different than what came before it.

Next: How Batman's Story Ended In Snyder's Original Justice League 2 & 3 Plan

Source: Justice Con

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