DC Confirms Joe Manganiello as Deathstroke in Ben Affleck’s ‘Batman’ Movie
Just last week, Ben Affleck shared a new set video that revealed an interesting new addition to the DCEU: Deathstroke, the masked comic-book villain who sorta-kinda resembles Deadshot. That footage left us with a couple of big questions; who is playing Deathstroke, and is he appearing in Justice League or the new solo Batman movie? DC’s Chief Creative Officer Geoff Johns has given us the answer to one of those questions.
Not long after Affleck shared the footage of Deathstroke, fans began speculating about who might be hiding under the mask. The popular choice? Joe Manganiello, star of the Magic Mike films and HBO’s True Blood. Here’s the footage again, in case you missed it:
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Geoff Johns has confirmed that Manganiello is indeed the man behind the mask, though he declined to reveal if Deathstroke has a role to play in Zack Snyder’s Justice League, which is currently filming in London. Johns, who was recently put in charge of overseeing WB’s DC film franchise, also confirmed that Deathstroke will go head-to-head with Batman in the upcoming solo film, which he co-wrote with Affleck.
In addition to reprising his role as the Dark Knight, Affleck will direct the solo project, which does not yet have a release date. Affleck will also appear next opposite Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman, Jason Momoa’s Aquaman, Henry Cavill’s Superman, Ezra Miller’s The Flash and Ray Fisher’s Cyborg in Justice League, which hits theaters next November.