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Joe Manganiello talks "canceled" Deathstroke appearances in Justice League 2, Batman, and Suicide Squad 2

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By Jack Shepherd, Bryan Cairns published 24 March 2021

Exclusive: Joe Manganiello tells SFX about his unseen journey as Deathstroke

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Deathstroke
(Image credit: Warner Bros.)
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In a surprising move, Zack Snyder's Justice League brought back Joe Manganiello's Deathstroke for a Knightmarish epilogue. The character sported a white mohawk and was, in a strange twist, working with Batman rather than against him.

Although Manganiello has been attached to the Deathstroke role for years, his version of the character has only appeared in Justice League. There were, the actor explains in the new issue of SFX magazine, meant to be many, many more, but they have nearly all fallen out of view.

"It went from my Batman movie being canceled to negotiations with Gareth Evans for a 'Deathstroke Origins' film being canceled," he says. "I worked for six months with an Oscar-nominated writer on the pitch and the outline for that project. That was six months of my life I spent on this thing that got canceled. 

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  • Ben Affleck in Zack Snyder's Justice League Zack Snyder would "still make Dark Knight Returns as a film" even though he admits he did "steal" from the comic
  • Jaime Reyes holding a Scarab in Blue Beetle Blue Beetle director says “I don’t think that chapter has been closed” for Xolo Maridueña’s DC hero

"Then they altered my [Justice League] scene with Lex Luthor in post. They did ADR with Jesse Eisenberg to tease a Justice League 2 that was going to be the Injustice League: that got canceled. There was a version of Suicide Squad 2 that got canceled. There was talk of a Deathstroke/Deadshot movie. That was dead in the water. Then there was mention of Deathstroke showing up in other films that didn’t happen. At some point, you just have to let it go!"

Manganiello has recently been verbal about the canceled Deathstroke plans, going into details about Ben Affleck's Batman movie, which would have pitted Bruce Wayne against the villain. The Warner Bros. CEO recently said that the Snyder Cut will not lead to any future Snyder-verse projects – but stranger things have happened in the DCEU.

  • Not a subscriber to SFX? Then head on over here to get the latest issues sent directly to your home/device

You can check out the full interview with Joe Manganiello in the current issue of SFX Magazine, which features Godzilla vs Kong on the cover. Zack Snyder's Justice League is streaming now on Now TV and HBO Max in the US. For more from SFX, make sure to sign up to the newsletter, sending all the latest exclusives straight to your inbox.

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Bryan Cairns
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Freelance Writer

Bryan is a freelance writer who contributes regularly to SFX, along with ET Canada, Sci-Fi Magazine, SYFY Wire, Scream Magazine, CBR, and more. He's a sci-fi expert in the movie and TV space, and also has a great knowledge of comics. 

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