Ben Affleck's Batman Movie Would Have Featured Arkham Asylum-Inspired Deathstroke Fight and DCEU Batgirl, Joe Manganiello Reveals

Joe Manganiello has revealed new plot details about Ben Affleck's canceled Batman movie, including information about an Arkham Asylum-inspired fight with Deathstroke and the DCEU's Batgirl. The actor, who was cast as Slade Wilson before the comic book movie universe was rebooted with the DCU, talked about his time working with Affleck on the canned project in his new book, Bloodlines: A Memoir. Entertainment Weekly shared excerpts from the book, which said the Batman movie would have been packed with reveals – and even a death – for some of Bruce Wayne's closest allies.

Affleck's plan for his standalone Caped Crusader flick would have seen Batman primarily tangling with Deathstroke after the character was first teased in a Justice League end-credits sequence. He described the narrative as "a superhero version of David Fincher's The Game" focused on Deathstroke trying to "dismantle Batman's entire life." Manganiello revealed that while Affleck's Bruce Wayne had taken lives before, Deathstroke would have been driven by revenge after believing Batman was responsible for the death of his son. This rampage would have seen him breaking into the Batcave and taking Alfred Pennyworth hostage.

Another character expected to return was J.K. Simmons' Jim Gordon; Manganiello stated that Deathstroke would have killed the Gotham City Police commissioner during the film's events. Adding to the chaos would have been a new Batgirl, who would have joined Batman for a fight against Deathstroke that nearly killed them both before they "escape via an aboveground train." The final confrontation was described as a climactic one-on-one showdown through the streets of Gotham, inspired by scenes from the Batman: Arkham Asylum video game.

While Affleck's movie was canceled and eventually replaced by Robert Pattinson and Matt Reeves' *The Batman*, Manganiello recalled being hopeful at the time. "It sounded good to me," he wrote.