The actor says the abandoned DC film would have seen Deathstroke murder Commissioner Gordon, take Alfred hostage and systematically destroy Bruce Wayne’s life.
Joe Manganiello has revealed new details about Ben Affleck’s canceled Batman movie, including a storyline that would have seen the villain Deathstroke target nearly every aspect of Bruce Wayne’s personal life. In his new memoir, Manganiello describes an ambitious revenge plot that would have pushed Batman to his limits and resulted in the death of one of his closest allies.
According to Variety, Affleck envisioned the film as a superhero version of David Fincher’s 1997 psychological thriller The Game, in which a wealthy businessman finds his life increasingly manipulated by a mysterious organization. The Batman film would have followed a similar premise, with Deathstroke, also known as Slade Wilson, systematically dismantling Bruce Wayne’s world after being led to believe that Batman was responsible for the death of his son.
Manganiello, who briefly appeared as Deathstroke in a post-credits scene in 2017’s Justice League, revealed that the villain’s campaign against Batman would have included murdering Gotham City Police Commissioner James Gordon, taking Alfred Pennyworth hostage and infiltrating the Batcave. The story would have also featured a confrontation involving Batman, Batgirl and Deathstroke, culminating in a fight that nearly killed both heroes before they escaped aboard an aboveground train.
The project was originally developed as a standalone Batman film starring and directed by Affleck, who first portrayed the Caped Crusader in 2016’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Affleck was also involved in developing the screenplay alongside DC Comics writer Geoff Johns, with Manganiello attached to play the primary antagonist.
However, the film underwent significant changes as Affleck stepped away from directing in 2017. Matt Reeves was subsequently brought aboard to helm the project, which eventually evolved into 2022’s The Batman, starring Robert Pattinson as a younger Bruce Wayne in a separate continuity from the DC Extended Universe.
Although Manganiello’s Deathstroke never faced Affleck’s Batman in a feature film, the character did make another appearance in Zack Snyder’s Justice League, released in 2021. The director’s cut included a sequence featuring Deathstroke and Lex Luthor, along with a scene set in the film’s post-apocalyptic Knightmare timeline.
The newly disclosed story details offer a clearer picture of what Affleck’s version of The Batman might have looked like. Rather than focusing exclusively on Batman’s efforts to stop a criminal threat to Gotham City, the film would have centered on a personal vendetta designed to strip Bruce Wayne of his allies, resources and sense of security.
With DC Studios now developing its own Batman projects under the leadership of James Gunn and Peter Safran, there are no announced plans to revive Affleck’s original film. Manganiello’s account provides another glimpse into an abandoned chapter of DC’s cinematic history and a Batman story that never made it beyond development.
Source: Variety