Deathstroke Actor Officially Speaks Out on Failed Batman Film

Published Oct 14, 2026, 11:07 AM EDT Willa Rowe is a contributing writer at Polygon, covering games and entertainment. She is a New York-based journalist and critic whose work has been featured in Kotaku, Digital Trends, the A.V. Club, GamesRadar+, and more. She also co-hosts the Girl Mode podcast. Joe Manganiello officially comments on return for Gunn's DC Universe The Snyderverse's Deathstroke actor breaks silence on failed Batman film Image: Warner Bros. Pictures Sign in to your Polygon.com account Zack Snyder's DC Expanded Universe was a mixed bag, and that's putting it kindly. One thing that fans almost universally agree upon, however, is that the Snyderverse's casting of Joe Manganiello as Deathstroke in was perfect. The actor was set to portray the iconic villain in a standalone Batman film opposite Ben Affleck, but he only ever appeared in the DCEU in a post-credit scene for 2017's Justice League. To this day, fans can't help but think about the incredible performance we missed out on. It turns out Manganiello still thinks about it too. When asked by Entertainment Tonight how he dealt with the eventual cancellation of Affleck's Batman movie, Manganiello revealed, "I lost my mind when that happened." While the loss of the role was heartbreaking in itself, Manganiello was also fighting an autoimmune disease at the time and used the preparation for Deathstroke as a lifeline. "I took me being offered that role as the villain of Batman as the universe saying it’s gonna be okay," the actor continued, "And when it went away, I didn’t have that to fight for anymore." While Manganiello admits he saw it as being unlucky when it happened, the actor has come around to the loss of the role. He said he, "came to understand through the full journey was that I was lucky to get it. It was never meant to be for me. It was there to make sure I didn’t stop fighting." Affleck himself recently talked about the incredibly negative experience he had working on Justice League as well as the solo Batman film, which he would direct. The actor-director has since stated friends felt he would drink himself to death if he continued with the project, which he left as director in 2017. Matt Reeves took over, eventually turning it into a new take on the character with Robert Pattinson in the cowl. Would Joe Manganiello return as Deathstroke in James Gunn's DCU? James Gunn's new DC Universe is well underway. A number of projects are currently slated for release down the line, with one project including a Deathstroke and Bane film titled Savage Hunters. While Gunn has resisted bringing back actors from earlier DC projects, it's hard not to want Manganiello to make a return. "You know, I have that helmet from when I got to play him for the first time sitting in my office and I look at it every day, and it’s the greatest achievement of my life,” the actor said. “I’ve been to hell and back. You want a warrior? You know who to call.” Maybe, just maybe, we haven't seen the last of Manganiello's Deathstroke.