8 Actors Who Could Play Deathstroke In The DCEU

https://t.co/0NsNzCtGip — Ben Affleck (@BenAffleck) August 29, 2016 The internet went into meltdown today when Batman himself, Ben Affleck dropped a massive revelation on his Twitter account – fan-favourite villain Deathstroke the Terminator is coming to the DCEU! We even got a look at their take on the character as Affleck shared some behind-the-scenes footage (see above). What's more, we have since learnt that the villain will reportedly be the primary antagonist of the upcoming solo Batman movie, which Affleck will write and direct. Judging by the fact that footage already exists of the character, though, we suspect Slade Wilson will first make an appearance in Justice League. The big question now is, who will play him? We've no idea how long it will be until we find out details on the casting, so for now, let us speculate a bit as to who could step into the role of Batman’s next nemesis.... 8) Manu Bennett Currently, the first actor who comes to mind when thinking of Deathstroke is Manu Bennett, after his terrific turn as the assassin in Arrow’s first and second seasons. Thanks to him, the villain is still arguably the best big bad that the Arrowverse has produced. Sadly, we have to admit that it's unlikely that Bennett will get to reprise the role on the big screen, as DC have decided against sharing actors with their TV division up to this point. For instance, casting Ezra Miller as Barry Allen over The Flash’s Grant Gustin. However, while the New Zealand actor is mainly a television star, Bennett did appear in all three Hobbit movies – as orc Azog the Defiler – so he's no stranger to big Hollywood blockbusters. 7) Scott Eastwood Remember when we didn’t know who Scott Eastwood was playing in Suicide Squad and everyone thought he would be someone important? Apart from Nightwing, the big rumour going around was that Clint Eastwood’s chip off the old block would be portraying Deathstroke in the movie. As it happened, Eastwood played the entirely unimportant role of Lieutenant GQ Edwards, the right-hand man of Rick Flag. He also got blown up by the end of the film. Well, that’s his DC career over then. Or is it? Let’s just for one minute entertain the idea that there was some grain of truth in those rumours that Eastwood was playing Deathstroke. Perhaps DC are playing a long game with his character. What if GQ didn’t die saving Midway City but was just warped by his experiences and became a villain himself? It would be a radical reimagining of the character, but you never know, it could just work. 6) Stephen Lang On the other hand, Eastwood is far too young compared to the usual depiction of the character. Behind his distinctive mask, Deathstroke is often portrayed as a more mature grey-haired individual. If the DCEU was to follow suit and offer up a classic take on the character, a spot-on choice would be Stephen Lang. Apart from being a perfect match for Slade in the comics, Lang has proven that he is a dab hand at playing villains. He's most famous for his turn as the warlike Colonel Quaritch in James Cameron’s Avatar, after all. Lang often crops up on fan casting lists for Deathstroke, so the actor would definitely have the support of the faithful if he was cast. The only thing is we can see DC wanting to, for better or for worse, age the character down a bit for the movies. 5) Ron Perlman We may have already suggested Ron Perlman as a possible J. Jonah Jameson in Spider-Man: Homecoming, but in retrospect he would be a much better fit for Slade Wilson. As he proved in Guillermo del Toro’s Hellboy movies, Perlman has the swagger and acting chops to pull off a great performance despite being hidden behind a mask. Perlman is also the only one on this list to have previously played the character. A veteran of DC animated works (he's also been Bane, Killer Croc and Sinestro), the actor voiced Deathstroke in both the Teen Titans TV show and the Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox movie. This doesn’t really mean he is any more likely to land this role, however – Mark Hamill’s been voicing the Joker for years but no one has offered him the part in live-action. Still, Perlman has the look and the voice to be a terrific on-screen Deathstroke. 4) Michael Jai White Recently, DC fans got excited after Michael Jai White expressed interest in playing Aqauman villain Black Manta in the DCEU. However, as good as White would be as Arthur Curry’s enemy, we would rather see him as Slade Wilson. It doesn’t hurt that, like Perlman, White has a long history with superhero adaptations. He starred as the title character in the regrettably poor 1997 movie Spawn and, more recently, he played Bronze Tiger on Arrow. As demonstrated in those roles, White has the attitude, the toughness and the look to play a character like Deathstroke. One reason against White playing the role, however, is that the actor in Ben Affleck’s video is clearly white (we can briefly see the skin around his eye). That being said, we don’t yet know if this is a scene from the film. It could well be just some test footage for the part with a stand-in in place of the actual actor. 3) Julian Lewis Jones Though Welsh actor Julian Lewis Jones (most known for his supporting role in Invictus) might seem like a left-field suggestion for Deathstroke, there is a chance that he could well be playing the part. After all, we know that he has already been cast in Justice League but cannot yet disclose his role. “I’m not allowed to say yet what part I play," Jones explained, "but let’s just say I’ve a role in what will likely be the most expensive film ever made. It stars Ben Affleck, Jeremy Irons and host of A-list actors. I’m just happy to have been involved and I’m looking forward to the movie’s release which will be next year." While there isn’t anything to suggest Jones is playing such a major part in the movie – DC probably want to keep a lid on as many details, both great and small, as possible at the moment – it is a definite possibility. 2) Joe Manganiello Following on from that piece of detective work, another possible candidate is Joe Manganiello. The 39 year old actor has previous with comic book films, as he played Peter Parker’s high school bully Flash Thompson in 2002’s Spider-Man (he also reprised the role in a cameo at Harry’s funeral in Spider-Man 3). While Manganiello hasn’t been confirmed to star in Justice League like Jones, we do know that he is currently in London – where Zack Snyder’s movie just happens to be filming. Speaking of Snyder, the DC director also just happens to be the most recent person the actor has followed on his Twitter account. So, are these two facts just a coincidence? Well, yes, possibly. But you have to admit that Manganiello has the right physicality for the metahuman mercenary. It could well be him looking out at us from under that orange and black mask. 1) Matt Damon Fans got very excited back in July when Matt Damon revealed that he would only be interested in doing a superhero movie if his old pal Ben Affleck was directing. Naturally, when we found out Deathstroke will be the villain of the Batman solo movie, our first thought was that Affleck had taken Damon up on that offer. After playing ace secret agent Jason Bourne for years, we know that Damon would be a natural as playing such a physical, formidable character as Slade Wilson. Deathstroke and Batman often have a very heated rivalry, and yet a lot of common ground too, so having two actors who know each other very well in those parts could make for an interesting dynamic. It might sound like wishful thinking, but it should be remembered that the main villains in Batman movies tend to attract big names (Jack Nicholson, Liam Neeson, Tom Hardy, etc.). In that regard, Matt Damon would really be the perfect pick for Deathstroke.