Joe Manganiello Reveals Key Plot Details of His Cancelled Deathstroke Movie

Joe Manganiello wishes to be a part of a Deathstroke origin show on HBO Max. Warner Bros. and DC have spent almost a decade attempting to run a successful cinematic universe based on DC characters. This was initially done with blockbuster movies like Man of Steel, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and more. Most of the movies entered the development stage. Currently, the DC Extended Universe has 5 live-action movies with confirmed release dates till 2023. But, there have been many projects that never materialized after initial reports of them being under development.

There was a time when Joe Manganiello was going to appear as Slade Wilson in a solo movie set in the DC Extended Universe. Gareth Evans was going to direct the project. Naturally, the Deathstroke feature would have offered a proper origin for the fan-favorite mercenary. According to Manganiello, it would have been a grounded affair akin to Matt Damon’s Bourne franchise. The actor recently attended a fan-run virtual DC convention called Justice Con.

He spoke about his plans and desires for Deathstroke. He said that he really wants a solo Deathstroke project to happen first. Without hesitating, he suggested the idea of a Deathstroke origin show on HBO Max:

“Deathstroke origin as a series on HBO Max. Absolutely, I think it’d be such a fun series and people would absolutely love it and there’s not a lot like it out there right now. It would have its own tone and its own place within the universe. I think it would be very fun and tonally very unique.”

He went on to reveal key details of the plot that would have unraveled in his canceled solo film:

“I want to make it clear that it wasn’t a script yet, it was a treatment. It was an outline for how the story could go. Who were the characters involved? It involved Adeline [Kane], the kids, who were going to be young, Wintergreen, Talia [al Ghul]. In my script, there was an origin story for the sword and there were League of Shadows ties and things like that. It was more of a Tom Clancy ripped from the headlines sort of story, or even like a Bourne Identity where it was going to be really grounded, and political with military drama as far as what it would take to go from devoting his life to his country for this life he believed in to, you know, having the rug pulled out from underneath him and being stabbed in the back and not knowing who to trust.”

That was the time when Joe Manganiello said that the movie was going to be a revenge-fueled film based in Washington DC as Deathstroke worked his way through the US government and those who wronged him. Last month, Manganiello told ComicBook.com’s ComicBook Nation that everything is still in place for Warner Brothers for pulling the trigger on the movie after all these years.

The actor said:

“You know where Deathstroke’s holding a submarine over his head and throwing it, you know? And I wanted Deathstroke to be human and grounded and so I started with you, you know, he was a part of the American military. OK, well what part? What branch? What would he have done? Where would have been, you know what did? What did his wife do? You know, and then of course, like the League of Shadows influence? And why does he carry a sword? If you’re, you know, most military guys don’t mess around with katanas, it’s just not what they do. So that part of the story needed to build out. And so I was really grounding it and they really, you know they loved it. So, I worked on that for six months.”

Deathstroke is one of those projects that had a great pitch but didn’t move forward after that. The film would have followed an origin story set before Manganiello’s appearance in Ben Affleck’s The Batman. Recently, the actor had a cameo in Zack Snyder’s Justice League. So, the fans are desperate to see more of him. Manganiello has not lost interest to play the character and is now hoping for an HBO Max show. But since WB is not restoring the SnyderVerse, we may not see the desired Deathstroke series on HBO Max after all.

Manganiello has been very open about what could have been if the Deathstroke movie happened. But unfortunately, the studios decided that a low-budget origin movie for a villain was not a priority. It looks like the movie won’t happen, even after the $1 billion success of Joker. That’s why, Manganiello has expressed interest in an HBO Max series instead. A large number of DC shows like Green Lantern, Peacemaker, and Justice League Dark are in development for HBO Max. It would be great to see if Deathstroke eventually becomes a part of this release schedule.

Would you guys like that? Let us know in the comments.

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