Ben Affleck Reveals Why He Wanted Deathstroke For Solo Batman Movie

When you think of DC Comics, you can't ignore their villains. From The Joker to Darkseid, there are plenty of baddies who fans hope they'll never meet in a dark alley somewhere. So, when Ben Affleck revealed his solo Batman flick had recruited Deathstroke, fans were understandably stoked to learn about the villain's involvement. And, now, the filmmaker is revealing why he wanted him for the movie.

Affleck spoke with Collider recently to promote his film The Accountant and was asked why Deathstroke was right for his film. The actor answered, saying, "He's a great villain because—I just had an instinctive feeling that he would match up with him well. You know, I'm a big admirer of that character as well, especially in the New 52 the way that they did Deathstroke, and I thought that it could work."

If you're not familiar with the famous DC character, then you should know that Deathstroke is a fan-favorite villain in the comic canon. Named Slade Wilson, he was originally made to be an enemy of the Teen Titans and has since gone on to challenge many heroes in the DC Universe. The lethal killer, who was imbued with enhanced powers by the military, is a famed adversary of Batman in the comics.

According to Affleck, it seems like moviegoers will be introduced to a more recent incarnation of the villain. If his film focuses on The New 52 version of Deathstroke, fans will meet the character after his glory days are done and watch as he's forced to suit up yet again to protect his legacy.

Of course, it would make sense to have an older iteration of Deathstroke working in Affleck's film. It would present an interesting foil to Batman's current status in the DC Cinematic Universe as he's not a rookie hero either. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice depicted Affleck's character as one jaded by their superhero past, so pitting a world-weary Deathstroke against Batman will definitely be a sight to see.

Over the past few days, lots of new information about the upcoming Batman film has dropped. Affleck has been eager to talk about the film during recent press junkets, and most notably, the actor even revealed the name of the film. Appropriately, the movie will be titled The Batman - though Affleck did say the title could change as its script evolves.

Affleck has allegedly been spending much of his time working on the script for The Batman alongside DC Comics CCO/DC Films Head Geoff Johns. The actor first teased fans that Deathstroke was coming to the DCEU during a social media post earlier this summer, and a recent teaser by director Zack Snyder seems to confirm that the villain will also appear in Justice League somehow.

As of right now, there's no official release date scheduled for The Batman. However, Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes said the film was a "year and a half" out; However, fans are not sure whether he was speaking about a production or release date. Joe Manganiello, who will play Deathstroke, has already started to research his highly coveted role. The actor recently posted photos on Twitter which showed him rolling in Deathstroke action figures, comics, and more.

DC Entertainment's line-up continues with Wonder Woman on June 2, 2017, followed by Justice League on November 17, 2017; The Flash on March 16, 2018; Aquaman on July 27, 2018; Shazam on April 5, 2019; Justice League 2 on June 14, 2019; Cyborg on April 3, 2020; and Green Lantern Corps on July 24, 2020. The Batman, Dark Universe and Man of Steel 2 are also in development.

[H/T] Collider