One year ago today, Ben Affleck broke the Internet with a short video of one of DC Comics’ most iconic villains.
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Affleck shared a 27-second-long video of the DC Extended Universe’s Slade Wilson/Deathstroke, emerging from what appeared to be a plane hangar.
— Ben Affleck (@BenAffleck) August 29, 2016
The footage took the Internet by storm, with many speculating exactly when the character would debut in the cinematic universe. The leading theory was Justice League, which was deep into filming when Affleck shared the video. The footage was later revealed to be test footage for The Batman, a solo film that Ben Affleck was poised to write, direct, and star in.
With that settled, fans quickly wondered who was behind the iconic orange and blue mask. The answer turned out to be Joe Manganiello, who was officially cast in the project around a week later. Manganiello’s casting was met with a warm response across the board, with even Deathstroke‘s co-creator Marv Wolfman joining in on the hype.
One Year Later
In the twelve months that have followed, Deathstroke’s official entry into the DCEU has grown less and less clear. While Manganiello has been training and studying comics for his role as Slade Wilson, The Batman has gone through plenty of evolutions. Matt Reeves stepped in for Affleck behind the camera, causing the film’s script to change significantly.
As of now, it’s unclear if Manganiello will end up have a part in The Batman. But the actor – and many DCEU fans – have been optimistic that he will get to play the part in a future DCEU film. Judging by how awesome that test footage was, we certainly hope this isn’t the last we’ve seen of Manganiello’s Deathstroke.
Justice League currently has a 4.19 out of 5 ComicBook.com User Anticipation rating making it the third most anticipated upcoming comic book movie among ComicBook.com readers. Let us know how excited you are for Justice League by giving the movie your own personal ComicBook.com User Anticipation Rating below.
In Justice League, fueled by his restored faith in humanity and inspired by Superman’s (Henry Cavill) selfless act, Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck) enlists newfound ally Diana Prince to face an even greater threat. Together, Batman and Wonder Woman work quickly to recruit a team to stand against this newly awakened enemy. Despite the formation of an unprecedented league of heroes — Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Cyborg and the Flash — it may be too late to save the planet from an assault of catastrophic proportions.
