In this world where directors constantly change and everybody still has no idea if Cad Bane will come back from the dead, it’s easy to fall into a pattern of reminiscing about what might have been. Sure, comic book movies likeThe Batmanseem like a constant nowadays. But with every big-budget release, there’s always some little change that happened along the way, prompting fans to wonder about cut content or completely reworked storylines.
A rather infamous instance of this phenomenon is Matt Reeves' current box office hit,The Batman. Starring Robert Pattinson in the title role withZoë Kravitz as Selina Kyle/Catwomanand Paul Dano as The Riddler, it shook up the formula people have come to expect from the Caped Crusader. Audiences have largely come to settle on the opinion that the film they got was well worth the price of admission. But what about the original plans for the movie?
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Some may remember thatBen Affleck himselfwas originally slated to both star in and direct his ownBatmanmovie before Reeves took over the project. AfterThe Batmanconcept artistKeith Christensenrecently shared an Instagram post showing off what Affleck might have looked like in Pattinson’s Batman suit, it looks like he’s got more hypotheticals to reveal to the world. This time, he released a photo showing off a potential outfit design for the villain Deathstroke, who was apparently set to appear in Affleck’s version of the film. Sleek and deadly, the design fits the character to a T.
Christensen’s post notably mentions Joe Manganiello, who played Deathstroke in the theatrical version ofJustice Leagueas well as Zack Snyder’s cut of the film.Manganiello recently stirred up Deathstroke interestonce again with a mysterious new profile picture on Instagram, which understandably got some fans' hopes up after being faced with the notion that the character probably won’t appear again anytime soon. Truly, the life of a DC movie fan is one heck of a roller coaster.
While Christensen’s design doesn’t exactly give off any explicit references to Manganiello, it’s pretty clear that he would have been the one playing the character if that version of the movie had seen the light of day (metaphorically, of course. This isBatman, after all). So unlike Reeves' admittedly inspired spin on the classic formula, it’s pretty clear that an Affleck production would have remained a part of the ongoing DC Extended Universe canon. Though, perhaps that also means it would have been reset along with the rest of the timeline as isspeculated to occur in the upcomingThe Flashmovie.
Either way, given the pretty overwhelmingly positive reactionsThe Batmanis still enjoying at the box office, it seems things still turned out alright in the end. The world may never fully know what Affleck had in store, but what’s life without a little mystery? Yes, that’s sort of a cop-out, but so is every explanation for why every hero and villain just so happens to be remarkably skilled at costume design.
