Zack Snyder’s Justice League: Joe Manganiello Reveals How He Helped Create Deathstroke’s Nightmare Look

When Justice League was released to disappointing reviews and box office numbers back in 2017, there were a lot of reasons for fans to feel let down. Not only was this not the film they knew director Zack Snyder envisioned, but it seemed to paint the end of the entire universe he’d created. Joe Manganiello‘s Deathstroke was one such disappointment, as he only appeared in the film’s post-credits scene, and the odds of his previously-reported solo film felt slim. We still may not get that movie, but we’re at least going to see more of Manganiello’s Slade Wilson in Zack Snyder’s Justice League.

The casting of Manganiello as Deathstroke was a popular one, so fans have been looking forward to seeing more of him on screen. They’ll the chance with the release of Zack Snyder’s Justice League, which features Deathstroke in multiple scenes, including the famed Knightmare sequence.

For this dystopian vision scene, most characters have a different look, and it gives Deathstroke a terrifying new hairstyle. While speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, Manganiello explained that he helped Snyder come up with Slade’s Knightmare look.

“In the end of the film I always envisioned him shaving his head into some kind of warlike, borderline suicide mission, ‘This is it, I’m going to die like a warrior,’” Manganiello said. “I explained that to Zack, and he said, ‘Great, let’s do it.’”

Late last year, while talking with Yahoo!, Manganiello opened up a bit about the cancelled Deathstroke project, saying it was one of many.

“I worked with an Oscar-nominated writer on that treatment, and it was one of those projects that got canceled during that period,” said Manganiello. “There were maybe seven different Deathstroke projects that all didn’t happen over the course of four years. It’s one of those funny things in Hollywood and in life where you’ve just got to let it go.”

Are you excited to see Manganiello’s Deathstroke return in Zack Snyder’s Justice League? Let us know in the comments!

Zack Snyder’s Justice League will be released on March 18th on HBO Max.