Joe Manganiello Reveals Deathstroke Story Plans After James Gunn Meeting

It seems Joe Manganiello isn’t done with Deathstroke quite yet! The actor has revealed his plans to continue his character’s story after meeting with DC Studios co-head James Gunn.

Joe Manganiello was perhaps one of the worst casualties of the old DC Extended Universe. Despite being a perfect actor for Deathstroke, he was relegated to a single post-credits scene that led nowhere. However, it seems he has plans beyond the silver screen. While DC Studios co-head James Gunn has told him to let go of his hopes for returning as the character in live-action, it seems his screenplay for an origin film could become a graphic novel.

“James [Gunn] is my buddy, and James and I had a conversation about it because Jim Lee over at DC Comics wanted me to create a graphic novel series based on the screenplay that I wrote for the Deathstroke origin film that, when they were dismantling the DCEU, that went to the wayside as well,” Manganiello told ComicBook.com. “Jim read it, and wanted it to be a graphic novel series, but no one could assure me that, if it garnered the attention of directors and producers, that I couldn’t be attached. So I had to let it go. James Gunn was just like, ‘Let it go.’”

This news seems to be giving fans hope for stories from the Snyderverse to continue on outside of James Gunn’s new DC Universe. While there’s no guarantee any other scrapped script besides Joe Manganiello’s Deathstroke movie will be made into a comic, Zack Snyder has expressed his interest in finishing things out in comic form. Though perhaps it would be best for fans to celebrate this potential revival for what it is: a victory lap at the end of a very long race!

The SnyderVerse era is over for now

The term “SnyderVerse” refers to the interconnected film universe that Zack Snyder created, which began with Man of Steel and continued with Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League. Those plans have been scrapped in favor of an interconnected DC Universe consisting of film, television, animation and video game projects, with James Gunn and Peter Safran at the helm.

Despite its mixed reception, the SnyderVerse has a dedicated fanbase that appreciates Zack Snyder’s DC Universe vision. Fans have praised the SnyderVerse films for their darker tone and mature storytelling. They have also criticized Warner Bros. and DC’s interference with Snyder’s DCU plans, which they believe resulted in the lackluster final product of Justice League.

In 2021, Zack Snyder released his four-hour long Justice League cut on the WarnerMedia streaming service HBO Max. His version of Justice League was well received by fans and critics alike, who praised its improvement over the original version of the movie, which was overseen by Joss Whedon. The release of the Snyder Cut has reignited interest in the SnyderVerse and sparked speculation about its future.

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