New Rumor Reveals Whether Joe Manganiello Will Return as Deathstroke in the DCU!

At one point, Joe Manganiello’s Deathstroke was set to play a big role in the DCEU. The plan was for Lex Luthor to reveal Batman’s secret identity to Slade Wilson in a post-credits scene in Justice League. This would have set up Deathstroke as the main villain in an earlier version of The Batman, which was supposed to be directed by Ben Affleck.

However, things changed when Affleck stepped down as director. Instead, Justice League’s theatrical version, directed by Joss Whedon, teased Deathstroke joining the “Injustice Society” in its post-credits scene. Although this shift disappointed many fans, there were still talks about a standalone Deathstroke film directed by Gareth Evans.

In September, reports suggested that DC Studios hired Captain America: Brave New World writer Matthew Orton to script a movie featuring both Deathstroke and Bane. Some even speculated it might secretly be a Secret Six project. Meanwhile, James Gunn hinted at future plans for Deathstroke in the new DCU, leaving fans hopeful that Joe Manganiello would return to the role.

Despite this, popular (though not always reliable) scooper @MyTimeToShineH (via ComicBookMovies.com) recently revealed that Manganiello is “100% not coming back as Deathstroke.” The studio is reportedly looking for a new actor to play the role in the Deathstroke and Bane team-up movie: “Joe Manganiello is 100% not coming back as Deathstroke. For the Deathstroke/Bane movie, they are looking to cast a new actor for the role.”

This news crushes hopes that Manganiello might finally get the chance to fully explore a character he’s been passionate about for years.

Although Manganiello only briefly played Deathstroke in Justice League’s reshot post-credits scene and in a few moments of Zack Snyder’s Justice League Knightmare sequences, he has often said he wants to return. However, his ties to the now-dismantled DCEU make it unlikely that he’ll be involved in the rebooted DCU.

Back in February, Manganiello said that his time as Deathstroke seemed to be over. He shared that James Gunn had encouraged him to move on from the role, even though DC Comics executive Jim Lee had shown interest in turning Manganiello’s unused Deathstroke film script into a graphic novel.

Manganiello turned it down because he couldn’t promise he would be involved if the project became successful in Hollywood. With a new beginning at DC Studios, it looks like Manganiello’s time as Deathstroke has truly ended.

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