More concept art for Ben Affleck’s canceled version of The Batman has emerged, showing a fully suited and booted Deathstroke and teasing DC fans with what they could have won. Unveiled on social media by artist Keith Christensen who said alongside the image, “My design for Deathstroke from the Ben Affleck version of #thebatman,” the artwork shows a wonderfully comic book accurate version of the supervillain, who would have once again been portrayed by Joe Manganiello.
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This sight of what Deathstroke would have looked like had the Ben Affleck Batman movie gone ahead is sure to have fans once again calling for Warner Bros. to restore both the Snyder-Verse and the Batfleck. Affleck first appeared as the DC superhero in 2016’s Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, with Joe Manganiello’s Deathstroke featuring in a post-credits scene at the end of 2017’s Justice League.
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Both actors reprised their respective roles in Zack Snyder’s Justice League, starring in a post-apocalyptic glimpse into the future of the Snyder-Verse, which has been taken over by Apokolips and a manipulated Superman. While the arch enemies Batman and Deathstroke hardly shared a word, the intention was for the master assassin to have a major role in Affleck’s solo outing.
Deathstroke Would Have Been the Main Villain in Ben Affleck’s The Batman
Warner Bros. Pictures
Development on a solo Batman adventure began after Ben Affleck was cast as the beloved character in the DC Extended Universe back in 2013. The plan was for Affleck to wear many hats, including producer, director, and star. Unfortunately, following the critical response to the DC movies in which he did appear, Affleck had reservations over the project and ultimately walked away.
Details of what audiences would have seen have since emerged, with Joe Manganiello revealing that Deathstroke would have been the main villain of the piece. “There were similarities to [1997’s] The Game. It was a really dark story in which Deathstroke was like a shark or a horror movie villain that was dismantling Bruce’s life from the inside out,” the actor explained back in 2020. “It was this systemic thing: He killed everyone close to Bruce and destroyed his life to try and make him suffer because he felt that Bruce was responsible for something that happened to him. It was really cool, really dark and really hard. I was very excited for it.”
While audiences responded with overwhelming positivity to both Ben Affleck as Batman and Joe Manganiello as Deathstroke, it does not sound like we will ever see them do battle on the big screen. Sadly, Manganiello does not believe he will ever suit up as the comic book villain again. “No, I let that go a while ago,” Manganiello said last year when asked whether his version of the character would return.
Thankfully, fans will get to see more from Batfleck, with the actor sporting the cape and cowl once again for the multiverse adventure, The Flash. Expected to be his final time as Batman, The Flash is scheduled for release on June 23, 2023.
