The state of the DC Universe franchise is somewhat confusing right now. Gone is the original slate of DC Studios movies and TV shows we were promised three years ago, and in their place sits an eclectic lineup of replacements. One of the most unexpected (baffling?) additions to the DCU slate has been a Batman spinoff film starring Bane and Deathstroke, two of the Dark Knight’s most formidable foes. It’s a pairing that has surprised even hardcore DC Comics fans, as Bane and Slade Wilson aren’t typically the type to work together.
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How DC Studios will frame the story of this Bane and Deathstroke movie remains to be seen. That said, fans are currently less concerned with what the story of this villain team-up film will be, and more concerned with who will be playing them. DC Studios needs to fill its next round of casting with bankable stars (especially after the failure of Supergirl), and we have five suggestions for actors that would be great as Bane or Deathstroke (respectively).
Deathstroke (Slade Wilson)
Slade Wilson/Deathstroke has gotten much more mainstream exposure thanks to the CW’s Arrow, video games like Batman: Arkham Origins, and the much-hyped (but never realized) showdown between Ben Affleck’s Batman and actor Joe Manganiello’s Deathstroke in the DCEU franchise of the 2010s. He is one of the most (if not the most) accomplished mercenary/assassin in the DC Universe; smart, tactical, and a master of virtually every form of armed and unarmed combat. Over the decades, Deathstroke has become the patriarch of his own family of assassins and has joined (or been coerced to join) any number of villain teams, from the Secret Society of Supervillains (possibly the inspiration for this film), the League of Assassins, and the Suicide Squad.
The actor who plays Deathstroke needs to embody both the physicality of the role and the militaristic mindset of an elite career soldier. Here are five guys we think can do it.
5. Timothy Olyphant – The Justified and Alien: Earth star has been a major star of television since the 2000s with HBO’s high-concept Western series, Deadwood. He cemented his persona as a Western icon with FX’s TV adaptation of Elmore Leonard’s Justified, and even extended that into fandom circles, playing a sci-fi/Western sheriff in the Star Wars TV series The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett. After seeing him play an eccentric robot in the Alien: Earth series, we think Olyphant has the perfect cold-stare disposition and wit to play a version of Slade Wilson who is the anti-hero protagonist of a film.
4. Stephen Lang – We haven’t seen Stephen Lang’s face for several years, since his character in James Cameron’s Avatar movies got resurrected in a big, blue, alien body. However, in films like the horror-thriller Don’t Breathe and its sequel, Lang showed that even at age in his mid-60s-to-70s, he has the physicality for action roles. Since a lot of Deathstroke’s action scenes will likely use a stunt performer in the mask and suit, Lang will be free to bring his iron-jawed gruffness to the dramatic scenes. The Avatar sequels have also shown a side of him that’s more anti-hero than villain, with more comedic moments in his performance. He would definitely make Deathstroke into a fun character to watch.
3. Andrew Lincoln – Andrew Lincoln should’ve had Hollywood at his fingertips after nine seasons playing Rick Grimes on The Walking Dead, the most popular TV series of the 2010s. And yet, that hasn’t happened, but maybe the opportunity is now. Lincoln made a return to The Walking Dead in 2024 for the sequel/spinoff series, The Ones Who Live. That show’s storyline (which saw Rick conscripted into the fascist-style ranks of the Civic Republic Military for years of service) now seems like a perfect audition for a role as Slade Wilson. The Walking Dead put Lincoln’s wide range of acting skills on full display, so we already know he can make Deathstroke, fittingly deep and complex as a character.
2. Nikolaj Coster-Waldau – If the Deathstroke and Bane movie is going to feature the two villains in a Hobbs & Shaw situation (rivals forced to work together), then the two actors playing them will have to be just as good at banter and wit as they are at action. Coster-Waldau’s performance as Jaime Lannister in Game of Thrones combined both fearsome psychopathy and sword skill with a complicated morality that was at once sickening and admirably noble (in its twisted way). Those are all the ingredients of a good Slade Wilson character, and if we are getting a version of Deathstroke who will crack more jokes than usual, then Nikolaj Coster-Waldau is the actor to do it.
1. Josh Brolin – Look, Brolin has become the go-to pick for so many big roles, including not one but two pivotal Marvel characters: the Mad Titan Thanos (Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame), and the time-traveling future soldier and X-Men descendant, Cable (Deadpool 2). Add his gun-toting, action-ready characters in No Country for Old Men, Sicario, and the Dune trilogy, and it’s clear that if DC Studios wants a big name to play Deathstroke, Brolin is an easy one to pick that most fans will embrace.
Who do you want to see cast as Deathstroke in the DCU? Let us know!
Bane
The man known only as “Bane” was born and raised in a hellish South American prison. He not only learned to survive as a boy amongst murderers, thieves (and worse), but also trained both his body and mind to become one of the most elite fighters and tacticians in the world. Bane’s physical and mental peaks were taken to the next level when he was fitted with tubes and an injection device that could feed a drug called “Venom” into his body, exponentially increasing his size, strength, reflexes, durability, and aggression in an instant. After becoming the gang lord of the prison, Bane set his sights on the focus of his personal mania: The Batman of Gotham. In DC’s infamous 1990s storyline “Knightfall”, Bane put Batman through mental and physical trials that wore him down, before thrashing the Dark Knight and breaking his back.
Bane has become a mainstream Batman villain, with some new classic story arcs (“City of Bane“, Absolute Batman). The actor taking on the character in the DCU doesn’t just have to embody the villain, but will be competing with some of the most debated DC villain screen adaptations in films (Batman & Robin, Tom Hardy in The Dark Knight Rises) and TV shows (DC’s Harley Quinn animated series). Here’s who we think can do Bane justice.
5. Pablo Schreiber – Sure, he’s white, ethnically speaking, but he’s also named after a famous Chilean poet, if that counts for anything? All jokes aside, Pablo Schreiber has been bubbling as one of Hollywood’s next big potential leading men for years now. He’s played smart, cunning, and ruthless criminals in HBO’s landmark series The Wire and the cult-hit crime-drama-action film Den of Thieves; he also took on one of most iconic modern characters in fandom, playing the Master Chief for two seasons of Paramount’s Halo TV series. Most of these roles have required Schreiber to bulk up to Bane size anyway; Den of Thieves proved he has the intensity in his eyes and delivery as much as in his muscles. He’d be a great pick that few would see coming.
4. J.D. Pardo – J.D. Pardo already has the height and stature to play Bane, and better believe a workout regimen will make him swell up to look like a convincing supervillain ganglord. But more to the point: Pardo already played a Latino ganglord who had been a convict, in the Sons of Anarchy spinoff series Mayans M.C. That show, and the arc of Pardo’s character, “EZ” Reyes, got darker than midnight by the time it ended. He has the chops to play a cunning and ruthless anti-hero leader, and arguably the best age (45) and look to carry the character forward into future DCU projects.
3. Abubakar Salim – Some may initially see this as another case of “race-swapping” a major comic book character, but so be it. Latino heritage comes in a wide range of varieties, including darker-skinned Afro-Latinos, so a darker-skinned actor shouldn’t be out of bounds (especially if an English actor like Tom Hardy gets a pass). Abubakar Salim has been building a strong cult-fandom, thanks to his starring role as an android patriarch in HBO Max’s cult sci-fi series Raised By Wolves, and his current breakout role as the bastard son of a great pirate lord in the Game of Thrones spinoff House of the Dragon. If you haven’t, just take a look at how Salim has transformed his body to play “Alyn of Hull” in HotD; he has the physicality to play Bane, and certainly the gravitas. He would also bring a no-nonsense seriousness to Bane that would be great for a more witty and charismatic Deathstroke actor to play off of.
2. Alan Ritchson – Look, if Bane can be played by a 5’9″ Englishman, he can definitely be played by an all-American boy who is the size of a football player. Alan Ritchson has found major breakout fame playing Lee Child’s Jack Reacher in Amazon Prime Video’s hit TV series, and is now making his way to bigger and better film roles (see: Netflix’s War Machine). Ritchson is no stranger to the DC Universe, having played Aquaman in Smallville during the 2000s and the character “Hawk” in DC’s Titans live-action TV series. All he needs is that big franchise film role to put him over the top, and playing the hyper-intelligent strategist version of Bane, who suffers the Jeykll/Hyde risk of becoming absolutely mad and unhinged on Venom, would be perfect for the actor. And you better believe fans would return to see him battle Batman (if he doesn’t get that role) more so than most other actors.
1. Dave Bautista – Why fight the fan-casting that’s been on the table for over a decade? At this point, Bautista has proven himself to be one of the best actors to come from the WWE-to-Hollywood pipeline (sorry, Dwayne…). He can be funny (Guardians of the Galaxy), intense and fearsome (Dune), or deep and heartfelt, even in genre works (Blade Runner 2049, Knock at the Cabin). And it goes without saying that Bautista is more than qualified for action performance, as seen in films like Army of the Dead, The Killer’s Game, and Riddick. Fans have been wanting Bautista to play Bane since Zack Snyder’s DCEU was still a thing. And if Bane has to be more talkative and charismatic in a Deathstroke team-up film, few have better big man charisma than Bautista – even if he doesn’t think he’s in the running.
Who would you like to see playing Bane in the DCU? Let us know in the discussion below!
Forum Conversation: DCU FAN-CASTING: Bane & Deathstroke
Go to ForumAll the Bane fan-castings were terrible
I think you have some pretty good options in your article.
Leave it someone who ISN’T hispanic to make decisions on a comicbook character that IS Hispanic. Every actor this Kofi person chose is NON-HISPANIC and felt the need to explain away his suggestions with a healthy dose of whataboutism. How about you do some actual research before making suggestions