Joe Manganiello will play Slade Wilson, the assassin known as Deathstroke in Ben Affleck’s Batman solo film.
— Ben Affleck (@BenAffleck) August 29, 2016
Geoff Johns, DC Entertainment president and chief creative officer, confirmed the news in an interview with the Wall Street Journal.
Unfortunately, Geoff Johns did not state whether or not Manganiello will be appearing in the “Justice League” in addition to the Batman solo film. But given the fact that Ben Affleck shared footage of Deathstroke on social media, my gut tells me for the time being we should only expect to see him making money off offing heads in Gotham City. But perhaps after the Man of Steel’srevivall, some rich foe of Superman will have a need for a super-assassin to utilize Kryptonite weaponry against the Kryptonian.
I’m personally excited for Manganiello as Slade Wilson, after seeing Manu Bennett play him on The CW’s “Arrow.” It’s going to be refreshing seeing a new take on the character that isn’t obsessed with taking down Oliver Queen for the death of Shado, and probably with all calm, cool, collected, and cunning needed to go toe-to-toe with the Dark Knight.
Deathstroke was created by Marv Wolfman and George Perez, with his first appearance in “The New Teen Titans #2” (1980). Originally the archenemy of the titular heroes of the Robin-led team, the world’s greatest assassin (in the DC Universe) has gone off and faced many other heroes, such as Green Arrow and Batman.
“Justice League” comes out Nov. 10, 2017, and Part Two is expected for release on June 14, 2019.
