James Gunn offers Joe Manganiello sage advice where Deathstroke is concerned.

DC Comics / Warner Brothers Discovery

Summary

Jim Lee at DC Comics wanted a graphic novel series based on Manganiello’s
Deathstroke
screenplay, which was a casualty of the DCEU’s dismantling.
Advice from James Gunn helped Manganiello let go of trying to resurrect his version of Deathstroke in another creative attempt.
Manganiello felt Deathstroke was behind him after Ben Affleck’s
Batman
film got cancelled, but the opportunity to reprise the role returned with
Zack Snyder’s Justice League
.

Joe Manganiello has come a long way since bullying Tobey Maguire in Spider-Man (2002). Diehard Marvel fans undoubtedly remember Flash Thompson (Manganiello) getting his well-deserved comeuppance at the hands of Peter Parker (Maguire), but Manganiello’s move to the DCEU just never seemed to pan out. And now Manganiello reveals how some sage advice from DC Studios CEO James Gunn helped the actor let go of another creative attempt to resurrect his interpretation of Deathstroke. Manganiello said in an exclusive interview with ComicBook.com:

“James is my buddy, and James and I had a conversation about it because Jim Lee over at DC Comics wanted me to create a graphic novel series based on the screenplay that I wrote for the Deathstroke origin film that, when they were dismantling the DCEU, that went to the wayside as well.”

Justice League Release Date November 15, 2017 Runtime 120 Studio Warner Bros. Pictures Franchise DC

Manganiello continued:

“Jim read it, and wanted it to be a graphic novel series, but no one could assure me that, if it garnered the attention of directors and producers, that I couldn’t be attached. So I had to let it go. James Gunn was just like, ‘Let it go.'”

What Might Have Been…
Warner Brothers Discovery

Manganiello first appeared as Deathstroke during the post-credits scene for the disastrous “Josstice” League debacle in 2017. However, Manganiello reprised the character of Slade Wilson for Zack Snyder’s Justice League in 2021 after his chance to terrorize Ben Affleck’s version of Batman/Bruce Wayne on the big screen fell to the wayside. Manganiello said in an exclusive interview with Entertainment Tonight:

“A lot of people don’t realize I actually wasn’t technically a part of the original Justice League. I was cast in Ben Affleck’s Batman to play the villain, and we shot a scene to tease our mashup that was going to appear at the end of the film. Once Batman got cancelled, I kind of wrote it off and thought, ‘This is over.’ I had actually shifted gears and started working with the studio on an origin film for Deathstroke.”

Related 10 Marvel/DC Crossover Comics to Check out if You Love Superhero Movies Over the years, Marvel and DC Comics have treated us with crossover stories, teaming up their iconic heroes – or pitting them against each other.

Manganiello didn’t expect to play Deathstroke again. Nevertheless, the groundwork for the character’s face-off against Affleck’s Dark Knight was laid when Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg) revealed Batman’s true identity to Slade, during their meeting on Luthor’s luxurious yacht.

Fans can watch Manganiello when he hosts the “$200-million adventure”
Deal or No Deal Island.
The new series premieres Monday, February 26 at 9:30 p.m. EST on NBC. The game show will be available to stream the next day on
Peacock
, and Howie Mandel serves as one of its executive producers.