Is Joe Manganiello Bailing On The Batman?

This film just can’t catch a break, can it? After some tumultuous behind the scenes issues were finally settled when Matt Reeves made his involvement as director official, everything seemed to be back on track for The Batman. With the script being re-worked now and production eyeing a 2018 start, it should be smooth sailing from here on out, right? Well, maybe not.

For many, the most promising thing about the standalone flick is seeing Joe Manganiello bring the villainous Deathstroke to life. Throughout the entire pre-production phase, he’s been sort of the one constant, that one thing that we knew we could for sure expect to get in the film. Now, however, it looks like even he’s not a certainty. While speaking with Pittsburgh Today Live, the actor was asked about his involvement in The Batman. Though in the past Manganiello’s always seemed overly positive about the project, it now appears that he’s changing his tune.

When the interviewer asked him if he’d be starring in the flick, he simply replied with, “Umm. Maybe. We’ll see.” Quite the change of heart then from what he’s said previously. In fact, just recently he noted that he was busy training for the role, and has always seemed 100% committed to it in the past. As such, his comments are certainly worrying.

We know that Reeves has a significant amount of creative control over the project now, so it’s entirely possible that he doesn’t want to involve Deathstroke anymore. Or perhaps he’s just putting the character on the back-burner for a future DCEU outing? With so much secrecy surrounding The Batman, it’s hard to say which direction the filmmakers are looking to head in, and with Reeves not even getting to work on the pic until this summer, it’ll likely be a while before we find out anything concrete.

What do you make of all this, though? Is Manganiello hinting at something, or has the internet read too much into his comments on The Batman? Sound off in the usual place with your thoughts, and if you haven’t done so already, be sure to check out the Wayne trailer below – a mashup which sheds a very different light on Batman V Superman.