Earlier this month, it was confirmed that Joe Manganiello will torment Ben Affleck in the solo Batman movie as Deathstroke. The actor took to Twitter yesterday to reveal some of his research for the film, including some Deathstroke comics and graphic novels.
#research pic.twitter.com/M5OnLIoMVq
— Joe Manganiello (@JoeManganiello) September 27, 2016
#research2 pic.twitter.com/TQ4vNxKgYH
— Joe Manganiello (@JoeManganiello) September 27, 2016
Among the comics in Manganiello’s stack are some of the most recent ones featuring the character, from both DC Rebirth and The New 52, but also the original solo comics from the early ’90s. The two most interesting books from his “research” are Batman: Earth One and Identity Crisis.
Both volumes of Batman: Earth One were written by Geoff Johns, who co-wrote the script for the upcoming film with Ben Affleck, and depicts a more realistic retelling of Batman which has already influenced the DCEU in how it portrayed Alfred Pennyworth in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Deathstroke doesn’t actually appear in either of the volumes, meaning Manganiello could be reading them as a means of grasping what the tone of the movie will be. Identity Crisis, however, did feature Deathstroke, who appeared in one particularly brutal sequence where he fought the Justice League to a near standstill by himself, slowly taking them each out one by one.
It’s unclear when production on the Batman movie will start, but the Time Warner CEO recently gave the timetable of it being “a year and a half out.”
Affleck will reprise his role as The Dark Knight in the film and also stand behind the camera as the film’s director. He also broke the news himself of Deathstroke’s arrival when he posted a video from the set of Justice League revealing the assassin. Justice League will arrive in theaters November 10, 2017, presumably with the first feature film appearance of Deathstroke.
