Joe Manganiello reveals the canceled Deathstroke projects in the DC cinematic universe

Joe Manganiello, in his new memoir Bloodlines, speaks about a health crisis and the winding path of playing Deathstroke. He also revealed that the character was set to appear in several projects, including Aquaman 2 and the second Suicide Squad film

In his new memoir, Bloodlines, Joe Manganiello talks about his health crisis and the winding road to playing Deathstroke. He also revealed that the character was supposed to appear in various projects, including Aquaman 2, the second Suicide Squad movie, a joint project with the Deadshot character, and a standalone film.

DC fans have been talking about the missed opportunities for Joe Manganiello's character Slade Wilson for years. Now, the actor has revealed new details about the series of canceled projects that came up one after the other after his brief appearance as Deathstroke, but never made it to production.

While introducing his new memoir, Bloodlines, Manganiello talked about keeping a near-death health crisis under wraps; A crisis that coincided with Ben Affleck's casting of him as the main villain in the DCEU version of The Batman. The role provided motivation for Manganiello to continue living and improve his physical condition during his difficult recovery, but Affleck's cancellation of the project ushered in six years of promise and speculation about various Deathstroke projects in the DC Cinematic Universe; Projects that were never completed.

Manganiello recalled how Ben Affleck's call about the role motivated him when he was recovering from several emergency surgeries and experiencing severe weight loss. He considered the character of Slade Wilson to be his main reason for surviving, regaining his health and getting back to fitness. Manganiello said:

All I could think about was how I could improve my health as much as possible so that a year from now I could star in this huge six-month action movie. But The Batman project was canceled and I didn't get a chance to play this character again; Of course, except for about two minutes of reshoots.

After the cancellation of Ben Affleck's project, Warner Bros. repeatedly contacted Manganiello to discuss the possibility of his participation in various projects. However, management changes and internal developments of the studio caused these plans to be abandoned one after another.

Manganiello said of the repeated calls and projects that never came to fruition:

Over the next six years, new projects kept coming up and my agent kept getting calls. They said that they are going to use your character in this movie and you will also be present in it. One time they said you were going to play the villain in Aquaman 2, another time they talked about your appearance in Suicide Squad 2 with a certain director, and then suddenly another director's name came up. Sometimes they said that you were going to be opposite Will Smith, and finally there was talk of making an independent film. I really don't know if I should consider myself lucky or unlucky.

These statements are the first time that Deathstroke, one of the deadliest assassins in the DC universe, will face off against Aquaman or Deadshot for the first time. However, Zack Snyder seems to have had major plans for Deathstroke's presence in the DC Cinematic Universe from the beginning.

Despite all these disappointments and canceled projects, Manganiello still keeps his Deathstroke hat in his office. He considers being selected for this role as the greatest achievement of his professional life and has described it as follows:

Being selected for the role of Deathstroke was the biggest achievement of my life.