Anyone who stuck around for the Justice League end-credits sequence will be aware that Joe Manganiello’s Deathstroke makes an appearance, presumably to set up his forthcoming solo outing as DC’s villainous super-assassin Slade Wilson. Now the True Blood actor has taken to Twitter to unveil the first official photo from his Justice League cameo.
The Raid’s Gareth Evans has been in talks with Warner Bros to write and direct the Deathstroke film, but this was prior to the release of Justice League. You can read the tweet as Manganiello’s attempt to maintain interest in the film, or subtle confirmation that it will still go ahead, despite the fall out from Justice League’s perceived failure.
Created by Marv Wolfman and George Perez, Deathstroke is considered the world’s deadliest assassin and one of its greatest tacticians. He is a very deadly foe with enhanced strength and reflexes and has gone up against Batman several times. He is, however, more of an enemy for the Teen Titans, a group of teen heroes and sidekicks; he made his first ever appearance in Teen Titans #2 and left his mark on the group in the fan-favourite The Judas Contract, a story which was also adapted earlier this year into an animated film. Deathstroke has also been a main antagonist on The CW’s Arrow, played by Spartacus‘ Manu Bennett.
UPDATE: Here’s a behind-the-scenes shot of Manganiello with director Zack Snyder…
Following Justice League, are you keen to see a Deathstroke movie, or does the DCEU need to get it’s headline acts in order before dealing with spin-off characters?
Originally published November 25, 2017. Updated April 19, 2018.
