Is Deathstroke the villain in the standalone Batman movie? (Update)

By Rick Marshall Updated August 31, 2016

deathstroke — DC Comics

It’s all but confirmed that DC Comics mega-villain Darkseid and his henchman Steppenwolf will be the antagonists of the upcoming Justice League team-up movie, but now it appears that there could be another bad guy in the mix, too.

Batman actor Ben Affleck, who’s currently on the London set of Justice League, posted a brief video on Twitter that appears to show popular DC Comics villain Deathstroke — who played a major role in The CW’s Arrow television series — suited up for his big-screen debut. The video wasn’t accompanied by any caption, so Affleck is clearly intending to let fans speculate on what it could mean for the DC Comics cinematic universe.

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Update 8/30/2016: According to an unconfirmed report on The Wrap, Deathstroke will be the primary villain in the upcoming Batman solo movie that Ben Affleck is writing and directing, reportedly titled “The Batman.” It’s uncertain whether the footage posted by Affleck will appear in the Justice League movie, the Batman solo movie, or is simply a screen test for the character, and the. actor portraying Deathstroke in the video has not been identified.

https://t.co/0NsNzCtGip

— Ben Affleck (@BenAffleck) August 29, 2016

Created by Marv Wolfman and George Perez, Deathstroke is one of the greatest mercenaries of the DC Comics universe, having been subjected to a secret military experiment that gave him enhanced strength, agility, and other attributes. These abilities, combined with his formidable tactical genius and martial arts skills, have given him the ability to go toe-to-toe with Batman and other superheroes over the years, and occasionally defeat them in battle.

Deathstroke’s real name is Slade Wilson (a name that served as the not-too-subtle inspiration for Marvel’s own popular mercenary, Deadpool, also known as Wade Wilson), and the character recently served as a featured villain in the Arrow television series across several seasons, with Spartacus actor Manu Bennett portraying him.

It’s unknown whether Affleck’s video is connected with Justice League — which is currently filming in London — or the upcoming Batman solo movie that Affleck is likely to write, direct, and star in for Warner Bros. Pictures. There’s also a chance that the scene featured in Affleck’s video could be from the mid- or post-credits sequence for Justice League (which would be quite the spoiler).

Directed by Zack Snyder (Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice), Justice League will hit theaters November 17, 2017.

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