Deathstroke Movie in the Works With The Raid Director

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Warner Bros. is in talks with The Raid director Gareth Evans to helm Deathstroke, the latest in-development DC film. Early on in production (and back when Ben Affleck was still directing The Batman), a tease came out that Deathstroke would be introduced in Justice League – which is the next film on the DC movie release docket.


Deathstroke was at the time lined up to serve as the main villain in The Batman, but plans may have changed now that Matt Reeves is directing that film. This was bad news for Joe Manganiello, who was already cast in the role, but it looks like his fortunes may have changed.


The Wrap is reporting that Warner Bros. is now developing a Deathstroke solo movie starring Manganiello, but that is not all. According to this report, the studio is in talks with The Raid director Gareth Evans to helm the film. It is still early, so this deal might not go through. That said, Evans’ background and knack for crafting memorable action sequences make him an ideal choice to bring Slade Wilson to life on the big screen.


The formation of a Deathstroke movie may be surprising to many, and it appears it should be. The Wrap‘s report states that Evans initially met with WB about doing Justice League Dark but chose to pass instead. However, Evans used the meeting as a chance to pitch his idea for a Deathstroke solo movie, and it impressed the studio so much, they decided to further develop the movie because of Evans’ pitch – and he’s clearly a big fan of the character.


Assuming deals close for Evans and Manganiello, fans will undoubtedly keep a close eye on just how fast this moves through development. The studio has yet to detail much of their plans post-Justice League, only that Wonder Woman 2 and Shazam! should follow next after Aquaman. Deathstroke may still be a few years away at this point as Evans has his next directorial effort, Apostle, due to hit theaters next year. He has a few other projects that have been announced, but Deathstroke could become his next priority.


This announcement does however only continue to add to the growing list of DC movies Warner Bros. is said to be developing. DC Films head Geoff Johns has noted how frustrating it is for these things to leak, and continues to show how the DC universe has a PR problem. For the sake of Manganiello and all Deathstroke fans, this will hopefully not be one of the projects that gets stuck in development for years.