Following the apparent reveal by Ben Affleck that Deathstroke will be the lead villain in his upcoming Batman movie, fans have been wondering what exactly the future holds in store for Slade Wilson. The villain played a key role in the second season of Arrow, but has since only made one brief appearance in The CW drama.
Is that because he’s now off limits to the network? Bear in mind that it’s previously been reported that Amanda Waller and the Suicide Squad vanished from Arrow because of Warner Bros.’ big screen plans for the characters, but the prospect of Manu Bennett not being able to reprise the role of Deathstroke in this world is definitely a major disappointment.
However, during a recent convention appearance, Arrow star Stephen Amell weighed in why the big screen plans for the villain may not mean that’s the case.
“That’s actually something that people bring up on a regular basis…that DC has told us you can’t have or you must get rid of [this character]. That’s not how that works. Diane Nelson and Geoff Johns – the people at Warner Bros. on the feature side, the people at Warner Bros. on the television side – are all in the business of making the best products for fans. Just because there may or may not be a Deathstroke in the DC Extended Universe doesn’t mean Manu Bennett can’t exist on our show.”
That’s good to know, but given Bennett’s comments about how disappointed he was with the way Deathstroke was handled in Arrow the last time he appeared, whether or not he would actually want to come back is another matter altogether. Still, the door being open to a possible return is a relief, especially as no other villain in Arrow has so far been able to top the season two big bad.
