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| Ben Affleck as Batman |
The DC Extended Universe of films has yielded a veritable roller coaster of results. Man of Steel (2013), Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), Suicide Squad (2016), and Justice League (2017) left bad tastes in the collective mouths of critics and fans alike. But Wonder Woman (2017), Aquaman (2018), and Shazam! (2019) have been both critical successes and financial gold mines for Warner Bros. Prior to the release of Justice League, star, Ben Affleck and director, Zack Snyder each teased the arrival of Deathstroke into the DCEU via Twitter. Snyder posted a storyboard image what would be the Deathstroke/Lex Luthor mid-credits scene. Affleck, however, posted a video of what was assumed to be test footage for Joe Mangianello's Deathstroke.
Speculation about the footage began to fly as fans began to debate whether Deathstroke would appear as a major player in Justice League or if he would menace Affleck's Batman in a solo film. Recent reports from multiple news sources seem to have settled the debate as to the purpose of Affleck's footage and for Deathstroke fans, it's a huge kick in the gut. Apparently, Affleck was developing a Batman film, but it would not have been a true solo film because the main would have had equal billing. Batman v Deathstroke: Dawn of Vigilantes would have introduced Mangianello's Deathstroke as a major player, but the lackluster performances of early DCEU films made Warner Bros. executives rethink their whole approach to their DC Comics film properties.
Before long, Affleck stepped down as the Batman film's director and eventually announced his departure from the role of Batman entirely. Affleck said on numerous occasions that one of the reasons he left the project was that he was unhappy with the script. Appearing on Jimmy Kimmel Live! in February 2019, Affleck explained that, “I tried to direct a version of it and worked with a really good screenwriter, but just couldn’t come up with a version that couldn’t crack it. And so I thought it was time to let someone else take a shot at it." But veteran storyboard artist, and frequent DC Animation film director, Jay Oliva, claimed that "The original Affleck script was the best Batman script I’ve ever read. Ben had a kick a-- story and I believe that the audience and fans would have loved it..." Oliva continued that, "It had some of the best Batman/Deathstroke stuff I’d ever done!" Deathstroke actor, Joe Mangienello, also indicated on social media that he loved the Affleck script as well.
These conflicting comments about the original script seem to indicate that there was much more to Affleck's departure than previously thought. A Batman film is still in the works headed by director, Matt Reeves [Cloverfield (2008), Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014), War of the Planet of the Apes (2017)] titled simply, The Batman. Reeves' film is said to feature a younger Batman, which some speculate may have been "requested" by Warner Bros executives. It is unknown at this time if Deathstroke will appear The Batman, but the news regarding Affleck's original plans for Deathstroke will undoubtedly leave fans of the Terminator lamenting the film that might have been.
