Last fall, Ben Affleck revealed that Magic Mike star Joe Manganiello would suit up as the iconic Batman villain, Deathstroke, in Affleck's solo Batman film. Of course, that movie has been put through the wringer in several ways. Affleck was supposed to direct the movie but backed out due to personal issues and the feeling of not being able to write, direct, and act competently in such a major film. After that War for the Planet of the Apes director Matt Reeves signed on to helm the film and said he was starting over from scratch meaning Affleck's script was out the window. At San Diego Comic-Con, Affleck squashed rumors that he'd be exiting the DCEU after Justice League but it's unclear how much longer he's going to remain onboard.
This has left fans wondering if Joe Manganiello would still get to take on Batman as Deathstroke or if Reeves is writing him out completely. While we've been in the dark for quite some time, it sounds like Manganiello hasn't been. Manganiello confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter he has spoken to Warner Bros. in some capacity and he knows if the character will still make his debut in The Batman.
“I don’t [have any information],” he said. “Well, I do but nothing that I can share. I know everything but I can’t say any of it.”
Manganiello went on to say he isn't at liberty to say when we might hear more regarding the future of the character on the big screen. “It’s not up to me. That’s a good question for Warner Bros. and DC.”
If we had to make a guess, we'd say he's probably going to be in The Batman to some extent. Will he be the main villain? Hard to say, it sounds like Reeves has his own vision and he isn't going to compromise it and we don't know how Deathstroke fits into all of that. If he wasn't in the movie at all, he'd probably just say he's out and wouldn't point us all in the direction of WB and DC. The two studios likely wouldn't make an announcement saying "Yeah, he's out, sorry!" as they'd rather focus on the positives than the negatives.
The Batman currently has no release date but rumors point to a 2019 release date.
