There's a new Terminator movie in the works, only it's Deathstroke the Terminator.
The Hollywood Reporter revealed that Warner Bros. is in early talks with Gareth Evans to write and direct Deathstroke, based on the DC Comics super-assassin.
According to the article, Deathstroke would be a starring vehicle for Joe Manganiello, who was first reported back in September 2016 to play the character in Ben Affleck's Batman solo film The Batman, which is now being directed by Matt Reeves. It's unclear if Manganiello will still portray Deathstroke in The Batman, or if the character has been written out of the movie.
Evans, 37, is best known as the director of The Raid and The Raid 2. His other films include Merantu and the upcoming Apostle, starring Dan Stevens.
Created in 1980 by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez, Deathstroke first appeared in The New Teen Titans (vol.1) #2 as Slade Wilson, a former United States Army officer who was chosen for a secret Army experiment, which gave him with enhanced physical powers in an attempt to create metahuman super soldiers for the U.S. military. Deathstroke became a mercenary soon after the experiment, when he defied orders and rescued his friend Wintergreen, who was sent on a suicide mission by a commanding officer with a grudge. However, Slade kept this career secret from his family, even though his wife was an expert military combat instructor.
A criminal named the Jackal took his younger son Joseph Wilson hostage to force Slade to divulge the name of a client who had hired him as an assassin. Slade refused, claiming it was against his personal honor code. He attacked and killed the kidnappers at the rendezvous. Unfortunately, Joseph's throat was slashed by one of the criminals before Slade could prevent it, destroying Joseph's vocal cords and rendering him mute. After taking Joseph to the hospital, his wife Adeline Wilson was enraged at his endangerment of her son and tried to kill Slade by shooting him, but only managed to destroy his right eye. Afterward, his confidence in his physical abilities was such that he made no secret of his impaired vision, marked by his mask which has a black, featureless half covering his lost eye. Without his mask, Slade wears an eye-patch.
Deathstroke has a long history as an enemy of the Teen Titans, beginning when his other son Grant received superhuman enhancements from the H.I.V.E., dubbed himself Ravager, and accepted a contract from them to kill or capture the Teen Titans. However, Grant's enhancements proved fatal, and Slade agreed to complete the contract. His first mission involved stealing the element Promethium from S.T.A.R. Labs and selling it as the ultimate weapon. He then kidnapped the Titans and placed them in the path of a Promethium bomb to test his device for the buyers. The Titans escaped and pursued Deathstroke, but he severely wounded Beast Boy in his escape. This would be the start to a lasting animosity between the two.
Deathstroke next appeared in New York, holding officials hostage in order to lure the Titans into confronting him. Terra, a new ally of the Titans, and Beast Boy were the only ones available to answer the call. Terra knocked Beast Boy out and fought Deathstroke single-handedly in an effort to prove herself worthy of being a Titan. Deathstroke escaped as the other Titans arrived, but by then, Terra had proven herself and the team offered her membership. Later that night, it was revealed that Terra and Deathstroke had conspired to fake the fight in a plot to infiltrate the team. Since then, Deathstroke has had a number of encounters with other heroes and villains in the DC Universe.
Manganiello will be the third actor to portray Deathstroke in live-action, after Michael Hogan on the series Smallville and Manu Bennett on Arrow.
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