Deathstroke actor Joe Manganiello reveals new story details about Ben Affleck's scrapped plans for The Batman. Long before Matt Reeves and Robert Pattinson started working on their new Batman solo movie, Affleck was set to be at the center of the DC Extended Universe's first standalone film starring the Dark Knight. Not only was Affleck planning to star in The Batman, but he was also scheduled to direct, write, and produce.
Following a turbulent experience on Justice League, Affleck decided to walk away from The Batman completely, after originally just stepping down as writer and director. Throughout and after the process, details on Affleck's vision for The Batman teased a very different solo film for Bruce Wayne than audiences had seen before. It's been reported that The Game was an inspiration, while Arkham Asylum was linked to the story. Affleck did confirm that Deathstroke would be the main villain. Joe Manganiello was cast in the role and filmed a cameo for Justice League that originally set up Affleck's The Batman.
Manganiello's future as Deathstroke is very much up in the air at the moment, and he's openly talking about what could've been. In a new interview with Yahoo, Manganiello discussed the story of Affleck's The Batman and Deathstroke's role. He teases a dark story that would see the deadly mercenary destroy Bruce Wayne's life in several ways. But, a new twist added to the mix is that Deathstroke blamed Bruce for something that happened in the past.
It was a really dark story in which Deathstroke was like a shark or a horror movie villain that was dismantling Bruce’s life from the inside out. It was this systemic thing: He killed everyone close to Bruce and destroyed his life to try and make him suffer because he felt that Bruce was responsible for something that happened to him.
There have been a lot of teases about The Batman's original story under Affleck throughout the years, but Manganiello has just provided a wealth of new information. The comparison of Deathstroke to a shark or horror movie villain is quite fascinating, especially considering Affleck's inspirations for the detective-heavy story. It's possible Deathstroke would be used in small but effective doses, such as the shark in Jaws or John Doe in Se7en. The latter is an even more apt comparison for Deathstroke with the trail of bodies Manganiello says he'd leave behind. This Batman already lost one Robin in addition to his parents, but The Batman could've seen Deathstroke kill another apprentice, Alfred Pennyworth, Jim Gordon, and many others close to Bruce.
It is also quite intriguing to consider what Deathstroke could blame Batman for in his past. Manganiello discusses his overall hopes for the character - including the canceled solo film - during the interview. Although it is unclear what Batman did before that had a negative impact on Slade Wilson, the implication that Deathstroke is out for revenge changes the big picture a bit. It was believed that the original Justice League post-credits scene saw Lex Luthor hire Deathstroke to take out Batman as a gun for hire, but now we know that he has his own interest in taking down Gotham's crime fighter. Unfortunately, we likely will never get a chance to see this story play out with The Batman going in a new direction.
Source: Yahoo