Along with throwing in a bunch of characters who were removed from the theatrical version of Justice League, Zack Snyder’s Justice League will also expand screen time for certain characters who did retain a foothold in what was shown on the big screen in late 2017. Word’s now come in that Joe Manganiello’s Slade Wilson, a.k.a. Deathstroke, will be among this lineup.
Zack Snyder’s Justice League, a.k.a. The Snyder Cut, is currently in the midst of additional filming, and earlier this week, it was revealed that Jared Leto will be taking part in this process, making this his first Joker appearance in the DC Extended Universe since Suicide Squad. Now Collider reports that Joe Manganiello is also part of this extra round of shooting, with a source sharing a picture with the outlet of the actor sporting a short, white blonde haircut, matching up with how Slade Wilson was depicted at the end of the theatrical Justice League. The Wrap has confirmed that Manganiello is indeed returning as Deathstroke.
In case you need a refresher on what went down in the theatrical Justice League’s post-credits scene, it was revealed that Jesse Eisenberg’s Lex Luthor had escaped Arkham Asylum. Aboard his yacht, Luthor recruited Joe Manganiello’s Deathstroke to be part of a group he was putting together to combat the newly-formed Justice League. Originally there were plans for Deathstroke to be the main antagonist in Ben Affleck’s Batman movie and to also star in his own standalone film, but the former has evolved into an entire different project and the latter doesn’t look like it’s happening anymore.
As such, it was unclear if we’d ever see Joe Manganiello play Deathstroke again, but now it looks like the actor will get to bring the mercenary to life at least once more. That said, it’s worth noting that back in May, shortly after it was announced that The Snyder Cut was heading to HBO Max, Manganiello said on social media that the movie would include “the original post credit scene,” meaning there was already extra Deathstroke footage available to be included.
What’s unclear though is if the new scenes that Joe Manganiello is shooting for Zack Snyder’s Justice League are intended to enhance that post-credits scene, or if this means Deathstroke will appear in a different portion of the movie. Post-credits scene-wise, now that Joker’s involved in the narrative, this lends credence to the idea that we’ll see Deathstroke break Lex Luthor out of Arkham Asylum, but perhaps Snyder’s thought of another way to throw the mercenary into the mix.
In any case, at least Zack Snyder fans can count on Deathstroke to get a little extra screen time in The Snyder Cut, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg of what this movie holds in store. While the bare bones premise of The Snyder Cut is the same as the theatrical version of the movie, i.e. the superhero team fighting Steppenwolf and his Parademon army, most of the specific beats unfold differently, from the resurrected Superman donning his black suit to folks like Darkseid, Ryan Choi, Iris West and Martian Manhunter factoring into the story.
All told, Zack Snyder’s Justice League clocks in at approximately four hours, and it will initially premiere on HBO Max as a four-part miniseries, and that will later be followed by those episodes being cut into one long movie. The plan is for The Snyder Cut to hit the streaming service in early to mid-2021, so keep checking back with CinemaBlend for more news about it, and learn what DC movies are headed to theaters with our handy guide.
