DC’s New Deathstroke Movie Plans Can Finally Make The DCEU’s Scrapped Dreams A Film Reality

The upcoming Deathstroke and Bane movie offers a great opportunity for DC to capitalize on the DCEU’s unused plans for Deathstroke. The lineup of upcoming DC movies and shows has seen a lot of changes in recent history, with the end of the DCEU and beginning of the DC Universe meaning a fresh new world and fresh new slate of projects with it. While the likes of the DCU’s Superman movie and Batman-focused The Brave and The Bold film are arguably predictable releases, plenty of less easily anticipated titles have also been announced among them.

One of the more unexpected announcements is that of a Deathstroke and Bane movie, which was revealed to be in the works in late September 2024. While there is currently no director reportedly attached to the project, Moon Knight and Captain America: Brave New World writer Matthew Orton is set to write the script for the movie, and DC Studios co-CEOs Peter Safran and James Gunn are also producers for the project. Given DC’s prior movie history with Deathstroke is filled with missed chances, hopefully the release can make up for some of these missed out on opportunities.

DC’s Deathstroke Movie Plans Can Finally Make The DCEU’s Unused Villain Plans Reality

Deathstroke’s Upcoming Project Offers A Chance To Make Some Parts Of The Unused DCEU Plans Happen

While the specific details regarding the Deathstroke and Bane movie are not yet fully clear, the decision to include Slade Wilson in the upcoming release means that the antagonist can finally have his day in the sun in some form after he only got to appear in the two versions of Justice League, allowing the unused DCEU Deathstroke plans to come to reality in a sense, even if it’s not as initially intended. Though audiences only got a brief glimpse at the DCEU’s Deathstroke, there were many plans for him that would have extended his role in the franchise considerably.

Reports stated that there were talks about Deathstroke having his own solo movie, appearing as a key figure in The Batman when Ben Affleck was still connected to the project, and appearing in The Suicide Squad, with Deathstroke actor Joe Manganiello stating there had been plans for this prior to James Gunn joining the project as director, and Gunn himself mentioning he’d considered using Deathstroke as part of the film’s team.

All in all, the years have not been especially kind to the DC villain in terms of actually bringing him to the big screen despite all these plans, with many losing hope they’d ever see the character in another live-action movie any time soon. As such, the idea of Deathstroke not only appearing in a major capacity, but also in a way that capitalizes on the idea of him getting his own film – and potentially sets up for future movies – seems to really make these seemingly squandered hopes for Slade Wilson become real.

Deathstroke’s Unused DCEU Plans Were One Of The Franchise’s Biggest Wastes

Deathstroke Could Have Been A Major Player For The DCEU

Closing the book on one cinematic universe to begin another is a concept that will always inevitably have some collateral damage, and Deathstroke’s unused DCEU plans are a prime example of this. Had even some of the cut ideas regarding Deathstroke come to fruition, the franchise would’ve been provided with a character who could serve as a villainous through line, connecting projects and the universe together and making a more cohesive feeling DCEU.

This is particularly true for the unmade solo Deathstroke movie, which had the potential to truly pull off the kind of villain-focused story that Sony’s Spider-Man Universe has been attempting to mixed success – with the action-oriented character having real promise in terms of giving him his own story, and possibly even possessing the ability to pull in those who aren’t interested in the superhero genre itself, but for whom the story of a mercenary that regularly undertakes life-threatening and mind-boggling missions would appeal.

As it stands, DC now has the opportunity to delve into what this could have looked like with the Deathstroke and Bane movie, making the unused DCEU plans go from a waste to something that has born fruit, albeit far later and in a far different way to what was previously expected. While it’s clear the project won’t tie to the DCEU timeline itself, for those who have mourned the loss of these previous plans, it’s arguably the next best thing.

Why Deathstroke Is A Perfect Character To Appear In Future DC Movies

Deathstroke Is A Perfect Character For Movie Adaptation

Deathstroke’s comic history is decidedly complicated when it comes to his moral alignment, with different runs making the character everything from a downright irredeemable villain into a more well-meaning grizzled antihero. The nature of this history means introducing Deathstroke to the big screen is a naturally interesting concept, as it leaves big questions about where on the moral compass this iteration of the figure will land.

This history is also one that could be drawn from easily for a range of different releases when it comes to tone, as well. Plenty of Deathstroke’s comic appearances have been action-packed and incredibly grim in tone, but other comics including him have been more comedic – and his eccentric family would inherently work well towards something more similar in tone to the kind of superhero story that James Gunn has previously hit on with the Guardians of The Galaxy movies and The Suicide Squad. As such, it feels as though Deathstroke can fit into almost any DC movie tonally.

To add to all of this, Deathstroke is connected to a range of major DC figures, having had notable storylines with a good chunk of the Justice League, though his stories have often focused more on Batman and the hero’s extended superhero family. As such, whether the Deathstroke and Bane movie actively is part of the main DC Universe slate or not, it’s clear that having Deathstroke in future movies can work for a range of projects while still drawing on DC comic history, meaning hopefully more releases may also follow suit.

DC Universe

The DC Universe is one of the biggest comic book franchises and often competes with Marvel. DC Comics started as National Allied Publications, founded by Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson in 1935. Since then, the franchise has exploded with thousands of comic books, movies, TV shows, and video games. 2013 marked the beginning of the most recent iteration of the superheroes, with Zack Snyder introducing Henry Cavill as Superman. After several movies with mixed reviews, DC underwent a soft reboot under the helm of James Gunn and Peter Safran.

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