Another unexpected development in the world of DC Comics live-action movie adaptations has just arrived. According to a new report, director Gareth Evans, best known for his work on the acclaimed action movieThe Raid, is in talks to helm aDeathstrokespin-off movie for Warner Bros. At the present time, not much else has been revealed, butJoe Manganiello, who was originally supposed to play the role inThe Batman, is attached to play the fan-favorite mercenary in the movie.
Last year, Ben Affleck made a lot of DC fans excited when he released some shakytest footage of Deathstrokewhile filmingJustice League. It was later revealed that the man donning the classic black and orange armor was none other thanTrue BloodandMagic Mikestar Joe Manganiello. It was also revealed that, at the time, the character was set to be themain villain in The Batman, which Affleck was set to direct at the time. However, Affleck later decided not to direct the movie, so Matt Reeves (War for the Planet of the Apes) took over.
Once Matt Reeves was hired to doThe Batman, he scrapped the script that Ben Affleck was going to use. So thefuture of Deathstroke in the DCEUwas in doubt. As this new report outlines, Gareth Evans was brought in as a potential director forJustice League Dark. Even though he passed on that project, he decided to pitch Warner Bros. aDeathstrokespin-off movie and, apparently, they loved it. So, they decided to move ahead with that project instead and now the director is in negotiations to bringDeathstroketo the big screen. Though, it should be noted no official deal has been signed just yet.
Deathstrokeis a character that has become a true favorite over the years and many fans were excited about the possibility of seeing him on the big screen inThe Batman. Even though that doesn’t appear to be happening now, he’s getting his own movie. The character was created by the legendary Marv Wolfman and the equally impactful George Perez. He is a highly-skilled mercenary and deadly assassin.Deathstrokefirst appeared in as a villain inThe New Teen Titansin 1980, but has since gone on to appear in many other books and has been the subject of his own solo series several times in the history of DC Comics.
Gareth Evansis also going to write the script for theDeathstrokemovie, assuming the deal goes through, perThe Wrap’sreport. Warner Bros. has a lot of DC projects in the works, so it’s unclear how this fits into their schedule and how quickly the project could come together. At the moment there’s no indication of a potential release date being eyed as the project is in the early stages. Still, this is a potentially exciting development as anyone who’s seen Evans' movies knows, this guy can direct action arguably better than anyone working today. We’ll be sure to keep you up to date as more details on theDeathstrokemovie are made available.
