James Gunn has plans to bring the most ruthless assassin in the DC comics into his film universe. Gunn recently gave a hint that Slade Wilson aka Deathstroke will be a part of the DCU. The supervillain is an archenemy of the Teen Titans and has also gone face-to-face with Batman and the entire Justice League. Gunn recently announced a Teen Titans project, which makes it even more convenient for a major Deathstroke appearance.
The character was an elite operative in the U.S. Army who gained enhanced physical and mental abilities from a super-soldier serum. Joe Manganiello portrayed the character in a brief appearance in Zack Snyder’s Justice League but further plans for the character went nowhere.
James Gunn Hints At Bringing Back Deathstroke After Zack Snyder’s Failed Attempts
James Gunn gave an update about one of the major supervillain appearances in the DCU. Deathstroke was a fan-favorite character, who became a wasted potential in Zack Snyder’s DCEU. The character was supposed to have a major appearance in Ben Affleck‘s solo Batman film and Joe Manganiello could’ve starred in a solo movie of the character, directed by Gareth Evans.
None of the projects happened in a troublesome DC Universe under Zack Snyder, but Gunn might just change that. The Suicide Squad director earlier confirmed that Manganiello’s dream to reprise the character in the DCU was not going to happen (via ComicBook.com). However, someone other than the Archenemy actor will play the role, according to Gunn’s latest update.
When a fan on Threads asked the director whether he had any plans for Deathstroke, the DC CEO gave a positive signal. The fan asked him to wink if it was true and the director shared a winking emoji as a reply. While Gunn hasn’t provided any further updates on the matter, fans are happy to just know that the Guardians of the Galaxy director would make Snyder’s unfinished dream come true.
Deathstroke will appear in the DCU it seems! pic.twitter.com/TLya6qij8t
— Home of DCU (@homeofdcu) May 28, 2024
With the announcement of a Teen Titans project in the DCU, James Gunn has set up the perfect film to place the supervillain character. Deathstroke goes after the Titans after he swore revenge for the death of his son Grant. Slade Wilson’s other two children, Jericho and Rose, would go on to join the Titans and fight him. The character was created by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez and appeared first in The New Teen Titans #2.
Joe Manganiello Fought For The Character For Years Before James Gunn Forced Him To Give It Up
In a 2020 interview with ComicBook, Joe Manganiello shared that there were at least seven different Deathstroke projects canceled in the DCEU. Manganiello took a solo movie script to WB at the time that impressed the studio and they greenlit a project with Gareth Evans. The director later revealed to Yahoo! that the project was delayed and he was no longer attached to it.
In his recent interview with ComicBook, Manganiello revealed that his Deathstroke screenplay impressed Jim Lee at DC Comics who wanted to make it into a graphic novel. He shared that no one at DC, including Gunn, could assure him that the novel would bring the attention of directors to his character. The Super director convinced him to finally let go of the character, as he shared:
James [Gunn] is my buddy, and James and I had a conversation about it because Jim lee over at DC Comics wanted me to create a graphic novel series based on the screenplay that I wrote for the Deathstroke origin film that, when they were dismantling the DCEU, that went to the wayside as well.
Jim read it, and wanted it to be a graphic novel series, but no one could assure me that, if it garnered the attention of directors and producers, that I couldn’t be attached. So I had to let it go. James Gunn was just like, ‘Let it go.’
Gunn may not want to bring anything that belonged to Zack Snyder into his universe. The only characters reprising their roles in the DCU are Viola Davis’s Amanda Waller in Waller and John Cena’s titular character in The Peacemaker Season 2.
Fans can stream Zack Snyder’s Justice League on Max to watch Joe Manganiello in action as Deathstroke.
