The new Batman film The Batman, which stars Robert Pattinson in the title role, was almost a different movie entirely. In fact, the project first began as a solo-film for Ben Affleck’s take on Batman. For a variety of reasons, however, that take was canceled and we ended up with Matt Reeves’ new blockbuster instead. While things seem to have worked out in the end, it’s quite surprising to see how far into development Ben Affleck’s Batman film was. In fact, concept art recently surfaced which showed what his Batman suit would’ve looked like. Now fans can see concept art of what supervillain Deathstroke would’ve looked like in the cancelled Batman film.
This concept art of Deathstroke comes via artist Keith Christensen on Instagram. This take on the character would’ve been for Joe Manganiello who only had the opportunity to play Deathstroke for a few moments throughout the current DCEU. Interestingly, he would’ve been a key villain for Ben Affleck’s Batman film. And, looking at the concept art, he certainly looks like he would’ve been a formidable foe for the Dark Knight.
Here’s the artwork:
View this post on Instagram
Keith Christensen also shared the following caption along with the art:
“My design for Deathstroke from the Ben Affleck version of The Batman.”
Of course, the DCEU is still ongoing, albeit in a very different direction. Ben Affleck is set to reprise his role as Bruce Wayne aka Batman in the upcoming film The Flash, alongside the likes of Michael Keaton. As such, there’s always a possibility that Joe Manganiello could still get a chance to play Deathstroke again. But whether or not that happens in the near future, however, is unknown. But at this point in time, it certainly seems as though anything is possible for the expanding DCEU.
Fans can thus stay tuned to ScreenGeek for more updates on the comic book film and television franchise as we have them.