It has been a whirlwind start to the year for The Batman. Not only did it lose Ben Affleck as its director, who was duly replaced by Matt Reeves, but there were rumors that Ben Affleck might not even reprise his role as the Caped Crusader. These rumors have thankfully recently died down, while we're no closer to knowing when the film will actually go into production or be released. What we do know is that Joe Manganiello will be playing Deathstroke, and the actor has now looked to remind Batman fans that the film will only go into production when it's the perfect time.
Joe Manganiello made this declaration during a recent interview with Robert Irvine Magazine, insisting that while he'd originally been told that production on The Batman would begin in May he's more than happy for it to be pushed back so that they can work out any potential kinks before filming. He also insists that's the stance that Batman fans should take, because even though they're eager, it will work out better for everyone in the long run. Joe Manganiello explained,
Last year, I said May and that was my understanding. It depends. They have big plans for this movie. Whether or not we start exactly on that date or in June, whatever it is, it doesn't matter. Here's the thing: The creative process needs to be respected and no one involved in this film wants to make anything less than an unbelievable film, a legendary film. The movie will start shooting whenever those pieces are in place and we know this is gonna be something that we're proud of. What we're not gonna do is be backed into a start date, scrambling to get something off the ground just to get it off the ground. Everyone involved wants to make this the best film possible, so that's really what it's about. It's funny how the media likes to run with, 'Oh there's trouble!' 'Oh, the script needs to be revised!' They're drama queens. There's a creative process, and everyone on the cast and crew wants to make this the best movie possible. So that's what we're gonna do. When we start shooting it, we'll start shooting it. It will be soon, I can say that. Here's the thing: No one wants to create that superhero movie that's polarizing to fans and critics. Rest assured, we're gonna do this thing right.
We've actually already had our very first look at Joe Manganiello as Deathstroke. That's because back when Ben Affleck was in place to oversee The Batman, he uploaded footage of the villain to Twitter to confirm that the Magic Mike XXL actor would be in the film.
Since Matt Reeves is now in charge, it's hard to know if Deathstroke will be exactly the same as the above, or if moderations have already been made. Either way, Matt Reeves, Ben Affleck, and Joe Manganiello will undoubtedly take as much time as they need to figure that out, and with so much riding on The Batman you can understand why.
