Once upon a time, Ben Affleck was poised to write, direct, and star in Warner Bros.’ standalone superhero movie The Batman. Affleck had previously played the Dark Knight in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Suicide Squad, and Justice League, so it made sense for him to lead The Batman as well. But after a tumultuous experience on Justice League, Affleck stepped down as writer and director, and then as Batman himself.

When Affleck did have the reins on the project, however, he had plans for Deathstroke to become the main villain. Joe Manganiello was cast in the role, and he even filmed a short cameo in Justice League to tease his involvement in The Batman. In a new interview with Yahoo!Manganiello reveals how Deathstroke’s rivalry with Batman was going to play out.

“It was a really dark story in which Deathstroke was like a shark or a horror movie villain that was dismantling Bruce’s life from the inside out,” Manganiello explains. “It was this systemic thing: He killed everyone close to Bruce and destroyed his life to try and make him suffer because he felt that Bruce was responsible for something that happened to him.”

Well, that sounds intense. Unfortunately, we’ll never get to see this shark-like version of Deathstroke. In Matt Reeves’ The Batman, Robert Pattinson’s Bruce Wayne will take on a different adversary: The Riddler. The Batman is set to be released by Warner Bros. on March 4, 2022.

Gallery — A Visual History of Batman In Movies:

More From K92.3