Deathstroke Star Joe Manganiello Discusses Canceled Ben Affleck Batman Film

Deathstroke actor Joe Manganiello talks about the impact the cancellation of Ben Affleck's Batman film had on him.

Deathstroke actor Joe Manganiello talks about how Ben Affleck's Batman cancellation affected him.

Magnaliello, who appeared as Deathstroke at the end of Zack Snyder's Justice League, was set to reprise his role as the main antagonist in a standalone Batman film. Manganiello was battling an autoimmune disease at the time, which dropped him from 235 to 176 pounds. He said Death Secret was his reason to push through and get back to full health.

"I just knew I had to fight. I had to get in better shape, I had to gain the weight I lost in the hospital," he told Entertainment Weekly. According to reports, the film was ambitious and intended to tie together 80 years of the Batman mythos.

11 Batman Villains Who Deserve Great Movies

In addition to starring alongside Manganiello as the Crusader, Ben Affleck did not initially write and direct the Batman film before stepping down from directing. The film was eventually shelved, and Snyder's DCEU ended with Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom in 2023. These changes also doomed Manganiello's appearance as Deathstroke.

"I lost my mind when it happened," Manganiello said of Batman's cancellation. "It was so hard. Because I was offered the role of the Batman villain, I was like, 'Well, as the universe, it's going to be okay. And when it was gone, I didn't have it to fight for. And it was almost like now I was looking for it. Mirror, and for the first time since I got sick and had surgery, I saw the scars and realized that this didn't happen to someone else - it happened to you.

"At the time I considered it unlucky. What I realized throughout the journey was that I was lucky to get it. It was never meant to be for me. "This was to make sure I didn't give up the fight and that I was in the best possible shape when they tried to reattach my digestive system."

While Manganiello has come to terms with losing the role and has gotten over his health issues, there's still a part of Deathstroke that he can't let go of. Asked if he was still ready to play the character, Manganiello said, "You know, I've had that helmet since I first sat in my office and I look at it every day, and it's the greatest achievement of my life." “I've been to hell and back. You want a warrior? You know who to call."

Affleck himself recently opened up about the debacle of his Batman film, telling the Happy Sad Confused podcast that his experience working on Justice League turned him off the idea of directing a film set in the DC universe.

"The truth is, the Justice League experience was very negative for a number of reasons," Affleck said. "Some of it had to do with where I was personally, some of it had to do with the tragedy that happened at the time, and also the fact that I really saw how I couldn't make a movie like that. The studio disagreed with the filmmaker. You're really wrong. That's what really condemned it."

Filming is underway on Batman 2, with Robert Pattinson and Matt Reeves teaming up to continue the story of a young Batman figuring out where his moral line is. While filming has been underway for several months, Batman II recently halted filming as the director stepped down for personal reasons. It is scheduled for release in early 2028.