(Image courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures)
Fans of the DC Extended Universe know that Joe Manganiello’s Deathstroke was once positioned to become a major villain in the franchise. After making his debut in the post-credits scene of "Justice League," the character was set to headline a standalone film developed by "The Raid" director Gareth Evans and serve as the main villain in Ben Affleck’s planned solo movie "The Batman". But following years of corporate upheaval and regime changes at Warner Bros. Pictures, every one of those projects fell apart.
Until now, fans only knew that Manganiello had been expected to return for "The Batman" and a standalone "Deathstroke" movie. During a recent appearance on "The Rich Roll Podcast" to promote his memoir "Bloodlines," however, the actor revealed several other DC projects that nearly featured the character.
Manganiello recalled: “Everybody knows what happened. ‘The Batman’ got canceled, and I never got another chance — I mean, aside from getting about two more minutes during the ‘Zack Snyder’s Justice League’ reshoots. Over the next six years, one project after another kept coming up, and my agent would constantly get calls saying, ‘They want to use you here. You’re going to be in this movie. You’ll play the villain in “Aquaman 2.” You’ll do “Suicide Squad 2” with this director — no, a different director. No, now you’re fighting Will Smith,’” referring to Smith’s Deadshot. “‘No, now it’s a standalone movie.’ Was I lucky or unlucky?”
(Image courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures)
Manganiello continued: “I was lucky to get the role, but at the time, I felt unlucky because I landed it and then the movie was canceled. Everything disappeared. I kept thinking, ‘How unlucky am I? I feel cursed.’ I fought for that role, and it gave me hope. Then it vanished, and every other project vanished along with it. Looking back now, though, I really was lucky to have gotten the role.”
Manganiello concluded: “That character — I still have the helmet in my office. It’s one of the greatest achievements of my life.”