Ben Affleck’s exit from the DCEU means we’ll never get to see the standalone Batman movie he was developing. So instead, fans will have to settle for the occasional story detail that finds its way online. Lately, most of these details have come from Joe Manganiello, who seemed genuinely excited to reprise his Justice League role as Deathstroke in an earlier version of The Batman. During a recent Justice Con livestream (via Total Film), Manganiello revealed new morsels of info about Affleck’s movie, and it sounds like we missed out on quite the bloodbath.
In a previous interview, Manganiello likened his take on Deathstroke to a “horror movie villain” who made the Dark Knight’s life a living hell. Apparently, he would have done this by killing “everyone close” to Bruce Wayne, and the body count included some very familiar faces.
“Some of the regular characters who showed up in Batman, in Batman films, were not going to make it through,” said Manganiello. “So it was going to be a cleaning house in a lot of ways.”
Manganiello didn’t name names. But he did mention that the movie also counted Barbara Gordon/Batgirl as part of its supporting cast. Whether she was going to be one of the film’s many casualties isn’t clear. However, Manganiello described a big fight scene that would have left her in pretty bad shape.
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“At one point there was an action sequence in the middle where Deathstroke just completely mauls Batman and Batgirl at the same time,” continued Manganiello. “Just, the two of them against Deathstroke are no match. And he just mops the floor up with them, and they narrowly escape. It was definitely going to be a lot of fun.”
Originally, Affleck was going to direct The Batman from a screenplay he co-wrote with Geoff Johns. He eventually gave up the director’s chair to Matt Reeves, who also took his own pass at the script. Over time, the project evolved into a full-scale reboot, with Robert Pattinson now filling the role of a young Bruce Wayne just two years into his crimefighting career. The film is currently slated to hit theaters on March 4, 2022.
Who do you think of these plans for Affleck’s version of The Batman? Let us know in the comments below!
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