Deathstroke Star Joe Manganiello Speaks Out About Ben Affleck's Canceled Batman Movie

Deathstroke actor Joe Manganiello has opened up about the impact the cancellation of Ben Affleck’s Batman movie had on him.

Magnaliello, who popped up as Deathstroke brielfy at the end of Zack Snyder's Justice League, was set to reprise the role in as the lead antagonist in a standalone Batman film. Manganiello was battling an autoimmune disease at the time, which saw his weight drop from 235 to 176 pounds. Deathstroke, he said, was his reason to push forward and get back to full health.

“I just knew I needed to fight. I needed to get in better shape, I needed to gain the weight back that I had lost in the hospital,” he told Entertainment Weekly. The movie was reportedly ambitious, planning to tie together 80 years of Batman mythos.

As well as starring alongside Manganiello as the Caped Crusader himself, Ben Affleck was originally down to write and direct the Batman movie before stepping down as director. …