Joe Manganiello’s Deathstroke Was In Suicide Squad 2 Before James Gunn

Joe Manganiello reveals he was attached to four or five different versions of Suicide Squad 2 before James Gunn boarded the movie. Manganiello played Deathstroke in a brief post-credits scene in the 2017 theatrical version of Justice League. That scene teased an Injustice League movie which never happened, but it was originally meant to set Deathstroke up as the villain for Ben Affleck’s solo Batman movie. That, too, never came to life, but Manganiello persisted, having seven different Deathstroke project in the works over a four-year period.

Again, none of them got beyond the development phase, and Manganiello moved on to other projects. However, he got one last chance to appear as Deathstroke in 2020, being included in the reshoots for Zack Snyder’s Justice League, which will finally be released on HBO Max. Deathstroke’s exact role in the plot has been kept under wraps, though the movie will feature an unlikely team up with Batman. It’s a small consolation for Manganiello, who seems to have been attached to more Deathstroke projects than there have been DC movies in the past five years.

Speaking on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Manganiello revealed even more projects featuring Deathstroke which got cancelled. The actor says he was attached to “four or five” different versions of the Suicide Squad sequel, even going as far as having dates on hold for filming. He says some of them included Will Smith’s Deadshot, while others were without the character, as Smith left the franchise. But, as has become standard with projects featuring Deathstroke, none of them came to fruition, and the character is not part of the movie Gunn ended up making. You can read Manganiello’s full comments below:

There were like four or five different versions of Suicide Squad 2 that I was put on hold for, for dates, waiting for one actor to free up and we were gonna go. And like that happened four or five times and never came to fruition…There was a Zak Penn script, then there was a Gavin [O’Connor] version. There was a with Will Smith, without Will Smith, there was just me and Will Smith. It just went on and on.

As far as bad luck goes, Manganiello has had his fair share as Deathstroke. He seems to be the one character who has consistently been passed over for major roles in DC movies, which is strange considering he seems like the perfect fit for a villain in the Extended Universe. Still, he does at least appear in Zack Snyder’s Justice League, and there is always the chance that if the movie is a huge success, DC might kick their plans for Snyder’s versions of the characters back into gear.

As for The Suicide Squad, Deathstroke’s appearance wasn’t meant to be there, either. Gunn clearly had a vision for the movie which involved more outlandish characters like King Shark and Polka-Dot Man, as opposed to a more traditional villain like Deathstroke. It would be interesting to know, though, what the different Suicide Squad sequels featuring his character looked like and how he and Deadshot would have played off each other as rivals. Sadly, that was not to be, and Manganiello, as well as audiences, are left wondering what might have been.

Source: Happy Sad Confused

About The Author

Daniel Gillespie
(899 Articles Published)

Daniel Gillespie has been a writer and editor since 2009.

More From Daniel Gillespie