Joe Manganiello’s Deathstroke may still have life after the DCEU, but not in a way you may think

Although it seemed like the DCEU was down for the count after the theatrical release of Justice League in 2017, the universe found more solid footing in several films afterward. However, one thread they didn’t get to pick up on was the tease of Joe Manganiello’s Deathstroke in the post-credits scene in which Jesse Eisenberg returned as Lex Luthor and proposed a league of their own. The DCEU has officially concluded with Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom and James Gunn’s reign with his DCU will be kickstarting with Superman: Legacy.

However, ComicBook.com reveals that Manganiello now has a new opportunity to continue his Slade Wilson incarnation despite the DCEU being dissolved. When Affleck’s in-universe version of The Batman fell through, in which Deathstroke was set to appear as the main antagonist, Manganiello wrote his own Deathstroke screenplay, which reportedly was well-received at Warner Bros. before the big studio shake-up. Since Gunn’s DCU is taking over, Manganiello now reveals that DC Comics is interested in having him take his screenplay and adapt it into a graphic novel series. Although this new plan had him remain hopeful that he could gain traction from his graphic novel and parlay it into the possibility of still playing Deathstroke on screen, his friend James Gunn would intervene with some Sage advice.

Manganiello explains, “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.'”

Reacher star Alan Ritchson has been gathering a ton of online support to be cast as the next incarnation of Batman. James Gunn is currently concentrating on his Superman film and hasn’t made any new announcements on The Brave and the Bold. It has been reported that The Flash director Andy Muschietti will be getting a second chance in the new universe as the director of the film. Even with Gunn’s advice, perhaps a throwdown between a Ritchson Batman and a Manganiello Deathstroke could be a card to have in the back pocket.