At one point, Joe Manganiello’s Deathstroke was set to play a big role in the Dceu. The plan was for Lex Luthor to reveal Batman’s secret identity to Slade Wilson in a post-credits scene in Justice League. This would have set up Deathstroke as the main villain in an earlier version of The Batman, which was supposed to be directed by Ben Affleck.

However, things changed when Affleck stepped down as director. Instead, Justice League’s theatrical version, directed by Joss Whedon, teased Deathstroke joining the “Injustice Society” in its post-credits scene. Although this shift disappointed many fans, there were still talks about a standalone Deathstroke film directed by Gareth Evans.

In September, reports suggested that DC Studios hired Captain America: Brave New World writer Matthew Orton to script a movie featuring both Deathstroke and Bane. Some even speculated it might secretly be a Secret Six project. Meanwhile,...