Joe Manganiello back as Deathstroke in ‘Zack Snyder’s Justice League’
It’s been four long years since the DC Extended Universe’s muchmaligned “Justice League” hit theaters, so moviegoers would be forgiven if they’ve forgotten that film’s end-credits stinger.
It took place on a yacht belonging to supervillain Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg) and involved a conversation between him and Slade Wilson, aka Deathstroke, played by Mt. Lebanon native Joe Manganiello.
An introduction like that would lead anyone to believe that Deathstroke was going to be a major player in the DCEU going forward. But that never came to fruition, and both Manganiello and his comic-book alter ego were left in limbo.
Although his future isn’t clear, Manganiello is back as
Deathstroke in “Zack Synder’s Justice League,” now available on HBO Max. This new “Justice League” features a a slightly expanded part for one of Pittsburgh’s favorite cinematic sons.
The reshoot of “Justice League,” which reportedly cost Warner Bros. $70 million, will be closer to the film Snyder initially envisioned before stepping down from the project after his 20-year-old daughter, Autumn, died by suicide. Joss Whedon came on to finish the 2017 film and allegedly exhibited “gross, abusive, unprofessional and completely unacceptable” behavior on set, according to star Ray Fisher, who plays Cyborg in both versions.
Manganiello still has a relatively small role in the new “Justice League,” which many DC fans have dubbed “The Snyder Cut,” but he did film at least one new scene alongside Ben Affleck’s
Batman and other stars, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
It’s been a wild journey for everyone involved with this undertaking, but especially for Manganiello.
There was a time when Deathstroke was slated to be in multiple DCEU projects, including as the villain in an Affleck “Batman” movie and a part of the “Justice League” sequel that was teased in that first end-credits scene featuring Manganiello’s Deathstroke. He
even wrote a treatment for a potential “Deathstroke” solo film that would’ve been directed by “The Raid” filmmaker Gareth Evans.
None of those projects ended up happening, and the Deathstroke stinger in which he first appeared had to be altered to advertise a “Justice League” sequel instead of a new “Batman” adventure once that film was scrapped. The “Batman” franchise was then handed off to Matt Reeves, who directed the Robert Pattinson-starring “The
Batman,” currently expected to be released on March 4, 2022.
The original version of that “Justice League” scene with dialogue teasing Manganiello as Batman’s next big-screen foil was restored in “The Snyder Cut.”
“So I went through a couple of years of that,” Manganiello recently told Vanity Fair’s Anthony Breznican. “And when the last one didn’t go, then you just put it away ... and say, ‘It’s over. That was it. I went through five flaming hoops, and it’s not happening. ... And then Zack calls you up and says, ‘OK, let’s go.’”
No matter what Manganiello does next, he reps his hometown quite often. Remember when he trash-talked Superman himself, Henry Cavill, when the Steelers beat Cavill’s Chiefs in the 2017 playoffs? Although Deathstroke is a villain, Manganiello was a hero to a group of kids at Children’s Hospital when he dropped by in early 2019 to teach them how to play “Dungeons & Dragons,” one of his favorite games.
He said there was one benefit to waiting several years to play Deathstroke again.
“I have more white hair now,” he told Breznican. “I fit the character, whichis actually better for me.”