Joe Manganiello may not appear as Deathstroke in Matt Reeves' The Batman, but Warner Bros. apparently has bigger plans for both actor and character.
Ben Affleck brought in Manganiello to play Deathstroke. Later, Reeves replaced Affleck as director and writer, and subsequently decided to shelve the previous script and start over again. At that point, people began to speculate that the True Blood and Magic Mike star might be out. Even Manganiello didn't seem to have any idea about his future as the formidable DC Comics assassin.
Most recently, The Wrap published a report suggesting that the studio is developing a solo movie for Slade Wilson with Manganiello in the starring role. Gareth Evans (The Raid) is in early discussions to direct and pen the script.
According to the report, Evans originally received an offer to direct Justice League Dark after original director Doug Liman left the project. Evans declined, but pitched the idea of making a Deathstroke movie instead. The studio executives were impressed, and decided to give the project the go-ahead.
The Hollywood Reporter confirmed that a movie based on the supervillain is in development. However, the outlet added that neither Gareth Evans nor Joe Manganiello has officially sealed a deal with the studio.
Warner Bros. has more than a dozen DC Comics-based big-screen ventures in the works, so it's unclear when the Deathstroke movie would move into production. Even if Evans officially signs on to write and direct, it's unlikely that he’ll be able to focus on the project before Apostle, the period thriller he is currently working on, makes its Netflix debut.
