What could have been? In the annals of DC film history, few films this side of Superman Lives or Justice League Mortal beg that question more strongly than Ben Affleck’s The Batman. Canceled due to a mix of regime change, shifting priorities, and the star’s personal struggles, the project is the most recent example of how quickly things can pivot and leave fans with naggingly unfulfilled wonderment.
Over the last few years, details regarding the axed production’s story were revealed in drips and drabs, but one of the slated stars, Joe Manganiello—who was all set to play Deathstroke—is shedding more light on it in his new memoir (Bloodlines: A Memoir). As a key part of Zack Snyder’s DC Extended Universe, the actor is uniquely and prominently positioned for tea spillage.
The same can be said for his character, Deathstroke. The assassin was the villain of the piece—on a mission of revenge where no prisoners were to be taken. According to Manganiello, old Slade Wilson took a track similar to Bane and The Joker, bent on making The Dark Knight’s life a living hell. Slade would also strike at the heart of his quarry’s dual identity, as he possessed full knowledge that Batman and Bruce Wayne were one and the same thanks to Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg).
At the end of Zack Snyder’s Justice League, Luthor left Deathstroke under the impression that Batman killed his son, Jericho, sending him off to indirectly do Luthor’s bidding by taking care of one of the heroes the corrupt tycoon finds most annoying but who’s also the most mortal and frail among his teammates. However, Slade wasn’t out to kill the Bat right away. First, he would go after his allies—going so far as to kill Commissioner Gordon (JK Simmons) and kidnap Alfred (Jeremy Irons).
Barbara Gordon would get involved and take an active role in bringing Slade down alongside Batman and avenging her father as Batgirl. This would almost cost her her life in an infamous and pivotal sequence where she and Bruce fight Deathstroke together. This ultimately leads to a showdown between the Caped Crusader and the Terminator, heavily inspired by the video game Batman: Arkham Asylum.
Affleck envisioned his take on The Batman a little like the direction Matt Reeves ended up taking things—as a David Fincher film, most notably 1997’s The Game. Like the overworked banker in the film portrayed by Michael Douglas, Bruce would be put through the wringer until Slade thought his victim was low enough to strike upon, directly and decisively. Despite Affleck notoriously claiming he “couldn’t crack the script,” his closest friends who read it raved about how killer it actually was.
The sad, unsurprising twist is that Affleck was trying to be diplomatic while going through the biggest personal crisis of his life and entire career. Paralleling Batman in his script, the actor/director was at his lowest point ever after enduring the reshoots on Justice League under Joss Whedon. The environment was so chaotic and toxic that Affleck relapsed into alcoholism, losing his passion for the cape as a further consequence.
Friends, including Matt Damon, encouraged Affleck to step back from superheroes and take on projects that brought him joy. Reeves soon took complete control of The Batman, giving us the version we know today with Robert Pattinson. The second part of that saga is on the way, but it’s as troubled as development on Affleck’s version; delays, stops, starts, and emergencies on set and beyond continue to plague The Batman Part II right up to the time you’ll read this.
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