Deathstroke Could Finally Get His Own Movie After 'Justice League'

Say what you want about DC's attempt at a cinematic universe (I often do), but it had some good ideas and some great casting. But while Marvel always made building a shared universe look easy, DC movies would often set up plot points and characters that were swiftly abandoned and never returned to. One such victim of this haphazard approach? Joe Manganiello as the iconic assassin Deathstroke.

For those of you managed to make it through the original version of Justice League, there's a post-credits scene in which Manganiello's Deathstroke shows up in an awesome costume for the obligatory future films tease. Except Justice League was four years ago now and we haven't seen hide nor white hair of the villain since.

There was, at one point, talk of Manganiello reprising the role for the Batman film that Ben Affleck was set to direct and star in. That was eventually shut down, and now we're getting yet another rebooted Batman story with Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne featuring Riddler and Penguin.

Manganiello previously explained that Deathstroke was set to appear in a number of DC projects, but in the wake of Justice League completely tanking, they were all shelved. But with Zack Snyder's long awaited extended cut of the troubled superhero movie finally set to release, there's a chance Manganiello's assassin could get another shot at life.

In an interview with ComicBook.com late last year, the actor acknowledged the rollercoaster that the DCEU has been so far. "There've been so much disappointment over the past four years," he explained. "There were probably seven different Deathstroke projects that were all canceled. So, when you keep getting that phone call over and over again, you have to let it go for your own sanity.

"So, getting that call from Zack to put the suit back on, it was fun. It was weird, because it's four years later. Four years later. But I had had a lot of thoughts after all those false starts about the character and what I wanted to do with the character. So, when Zack called me up, I got to really put my stink on him in a few different ways that were very satisfying."

Warner Bros.

We already know that Deathstroke will have a slightly extended role in the Synder Cut, although it's currently unclear exactly how much more screen-time has been devoted to the former Teen Titans nemesis. The good news is that Manganiello could once again have a future in DC movies, provided the Snyder Cut is well-received.

Speaking on a recent episode of the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Manganiello explained why all future Deathstroke projects - including a potential solo movie - were put on hold.

"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,"

Regardless, the actor seems to have some renewed optimism that the Snyder Cut will spark a resurgence in interest for Deathstroke. "I think there's going to be a lot of excitement over continuing what Zack was up to," he said.

While that's by no means confirmation of the Deathstroke solo flick many of us desperately crave, we are undeniably much closer to it becoming a reality than we were back in 2017. Just give me an Arkham Origins-style fight between Manganiello and Affleck's Batman and I can die happy.

Topics: GAMING, News, Justice League, Warner Bros., DC, Batman