Joe Manganiello Reveals Ben Affleck Meeting About Deathstroke In Batman Movie

There are few certainties known about the status of the DC Extended Universe, though one of those facts is that the upcoming The Batman will no longer be directed by Ben Affleck and will instead be directed by Matt Reeves. Who will play the Caped Crusader and what the film will focus on is anyone’s guess, though Joe Manganiello, who appeared as Deathstroke in a post-credits scene for Justice League, recently confirmed that he had previously met with Ben Affleck for a possible appearance in The Batman.

“When something came around, like when I met with Ben Affleck about Batman, and he told me that the meeting we were having was for Deathstroke, I thought, ‘Wow, well, there’s a literal mask,’ but this is a real opportunity to figure out who this guy is on the inside,” the actor revealed to the ID10T podcast.

The actor then went on to describe his approach to the character which, given he only briefly appeared in a post-credits scene, went very in-depth on the character, potentially confirming Deathstroke’s major role in Affleck’s planned film.

“The best, quote-unquote, I hate calling them this…calling them a ‘villain,’ is understanding where they’re coming from. They’re a villain to people who are opposing them, but from the inside, this is a person who’s struggling with all types of things,” Manganiello confessed. “I think it’s really interesting to tell that kind of story and tell the truth, emotionally, of a story like that when you’re talking about a man who lost an eye, was betrayed, lost his son. These different types of aspects and you couple that with real-world military training.”

Not only did the actor begin mentally preparing for embodying the character, but he began physical preparations as well, which helped him sell the studio on the character’s potential.

“Then I started training at a Ninjitsu dojo and started learning sword fighting,” the actor noted. “I started learning and understanding where those techniques come from and all of the sudden this thing starts writing itself and now, what I love doing, in an instance like that, I’m able to, because I’m in at the ground level, I’m able to go back and pitch all of my work. So I’m pitching them, ‘This is where I think he comes from, this is where I think he’s going, this is the military background, these are some articles that I’ve pulled for you, I’ve also interviewed these people over here, the Ninjitsu school.’”

While the character’s involvement in Reeves’ new approach to The Batman is unclear, Manganiello teased to Variety earlier this month that a solo Deathstroke movie is “in the works.”

The Batman is rumored to begin filming next year.

Are you hoping to see Deathstroke in his own movie or as the antagonist in The Batman? Let us know in the comments below!

[H/T ID10T]