The Snyderverse is known for its distinct visual style, gripping storyline, and striking cinematography. While the future of the Snyderverse remains uncertain, the fanbase continues to support Snyder’s work and vision for these iconic DC Comics characters. During Zack Snyder’s Full Circle Justice League event, Ben Affleck revealed details about his abandoned solo Batman movie and the antagonist he had envisioned for it.
Before Robert Pattinson took over the Caped Crusader’s role, Ben Affleck’s character portrayal was set to star and direct a solo DCEU film. Among the shelved ideas was the casting of actor Joe Manganiello to play the role of the notorious comic book villain, Deathstroke.
Ben Affleck Had Big Plans For The Batman
At the Full Circle event, while speaking on Zack Snyder’s Justice League panel, Ben Affleck was asked about his creative approach to the portrayal of Deathstroke. This prompted the actor to elaborate on his perspective on cinematic villains.
“There were a number of them that I was kind of exploring. And the plans were to make interesting, nuanced, complex characters, in particular to the character you mentioned. I kind of feel like either you do – I’m just going to get into my own preference here – but either you do a kind of massive one villain that is so formidable you just can’t imagine how your protagonist is going to be able to overcome it. Or you have to really sort of populate kind of, you know, Injustice – these big group villains – where you have to get all these different characters.”
Back in 2016, Ben Affleck’s plans for Deathstroke were widely known, but following the production of Justice League in 2017, there was a shift in the studio’s plans. Although Deathstroke did not make it into the theatrical release of Justice League, the character did make a cameo in the post-credits scene. Eventually, the character appeared in Zack Snyder’s Justice League.
Will Deathstroke Appear In Future DC Films
When Ben Affleck’s Batman project was still in development, he told Collider why he chose to feature Deathstroke in the film, stating, “I just had an instinctive feeling that he would match up with him well.”
“He’s a great villain because—I just had an instinctive feeling that he would match up with him well. You know, I’m a big admirer of that character as well, especially in the New 52 the way that they did Deathstroke, and I thought that it could work.”
At the time of Ben Affleck’s proposed Batman movie, the idea of having two factions on opposing sides was relatively uncharted territory for the character in film adaptations. With so many DC projects in the pipeline, Deathstroke might still have a future.
Source: The Direct
