All aboard: The new face of Deathstroke

Joe Manganiello cast as DC’s deadly assassin in upcoming Batman movie

Joe Manganiello has been cast to play DC’s deadly assassin Deathstroke in actor-director Ben Affleck’s upcoming Batman standalone film, reported Variety.

DC Entertainment president and chief creative officer Geoff Johns confirmed the casting during a recent interview with Wall Street Journal. The news comes just a week after Affleck cryptically teased a video on social media that appeared to be a screen test, with the villain walking toward a camera. The post led to fervent discussion among DC fans about who was under the mask.

Deathstroke, also known as Slade Wilson, was created by Marv Wolfman and George Perez, and first appeared in The New Teen Titans #2 in 1980. Although he originally appeared as the archenemy of the teenage superhero team, Deathstroke eventually had run-ins with a number of other characters in the DC Universe, including Batman himself. Manganiello’s Deathstroke won’t be the first live-action version of the character. Spartacus star Manu Bennett played the character in three seasons of Arrow.

Affleck donned the cape for the first time in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and will be seen reprising the role in Justice League next year. Johns declined to comment on whether Manganiello will make an appearance in the latter film. Justice League is slated to hit theaters on November 10, 2017, while Justice League: Part Two is expected to hit screens on June 14, 2019.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 11^th, 2016.

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