Originally published March 7, 2017. Updated April 16, 2018.
As he gears up to take on the role of Slade Wilson in The Batman, actor Joe Manganiello has been chatting to Robert Irvine Magazine about his excitement over getting the opportunity to join the DC Extended Universe, and what drew him to the character of Deathstroke.
“I’m very excited to be working with the people I’m going to be working with,” said Manganiello. I’ve known Jon Berg (producer) prior to joining the DCEU. I met everyone, Zack Snyder included, when Man of Steel came out. I’ve known them all for years and I’m very excited to work with everyone. Ben Affleck makes great films and he’s a great Batman. Geoff Johns certainly is a really fun guy to hang around with and has a great grasp on this steering wheel that is the Titanic of the DCEU. Knowing what they have planned for the future, I think fans are really gonna love it. There were a lot of superhero and supervillain roles that came my way and my gut said those were not the right fit for me. This one was perfect. This was exactly what I was looking for… I guess there was a TV show [Arrow] but I haven’t seen it. I won’t watch it. This is my character, an exciting one, and has the capacity I think, to be a great villain. And what all the great ones can do is polarize an audience. When I was a kid I always rooted for the villain. As a kid I think I would have rooted for him and I think fans will.”
“They have big plans for this movie,” he continued. “Whether or not we start exactly on that date or in June, whatever it is, it doesn’t matter. Here’s the thing: The creative process needs to be respected and no one involved in this film wants to make anything less than an unbelievable film, a legendary film. The movie will start shooting whenever those pieces are in place and we know this is gonna be something that we’re proud of. What we’re not gonna do is be backed into a start date, scrambling to get something off the ground just to get it off the ground. Everyone involved wants to make this the best film possible, so that’s really what it’s about. It’s funny how the media likes to run with, ‘Oh there’s trouble!’ ‘Oh, the script needs to be revised!’ They’re drama queens. There’s a creative process, and everyone on the cast and crew wants to make this the best movie possible. So that’s what we’re gonna do. When we start shooting it, we’ll start shooting it. It will be soon, I can say that. Here’s the thing: No one wants to create that superhero movie that’s polarizing to fans and critics. Rest assured, we’re gonna do this thing right.”
The Batman hasn’t had the smoothest of rides during development, with Ben Affleck vacating the director’s chair, and constant rumours that the script is “a mess” and Warner Bros. is applying the pressure to move forward into production without adequate time to get things right. However, with Matt Reeves (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes) now on board to direct, and everyone reportedly “very happy” with the screenplay, let’s hope the movie is firmly back on track.
