DC Studios has had a major year. In the past 12 months, years of development, production, and post have given way to the proper start of the DCU as they’ve released the Creature Commandos animated series, Season 2 of Peacemaker, and the first Superman movie in twelve years. So far, the studio is riding high from that success, even with a stumble recently. They’re looking to continue that success in 2026 with the Supergirl movie, Clayface, and the Lanterns TV series, before giving way to even more movies and shows to follow. All that in mind, a “perfect” DC villain has been revealed, and fans know they can’t have it.
Longtime DC director Zack Snyder, who spearheaded the 2010s “DCEU” with movies Man of Steel, Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice, and Justice League, continues to tease his fans with never before seen photos of his version of the DC characters. Last week Snyder offered a fresh look at Henry Cavill’s Superman that fans had never seen before, and now he’s done the same with one of his villains, Joe Manganiello as the notorious Deathstroke.
One of the biggest “what ifs” that DC fans have been stuck with for years is, of course, how Snyder’s plans for the DCEU would have continued after Justice League, which included the tease of Joe Manganiello as the DC villain. What came after were teases of the plans at DC that never came to fruition, including that Manganiello’s Deathstroke was going to be the primary antagonist of Ben Affleck’s cancelled Batman solo movie. Fans were given a little more with the character after Zack Snyder’s Justice League was released, which saw Manganiello return as the character in the “Knightmare” alternate future where he has teamed up with Batman, Mera, Cyborg, and The Joker.
Now, Snyder has given fans another fresh look at his take on the character with a never before seen photo of Manganiello in costume for the director’s cut of the film. Snyder captioned the image with details of how he took the photo, adding: “thank you @joemanganiello for being a perfect Deathstroke.” Fans of Snyder’s films quickly flocked to the new look, lamenting that it’s a version of the character that is probably unlikely to happen, at least any time soon.
“We want this universe to be restored!” wrote one user, while another replied with the hashtag “MakeTheBatfleckMovie.” Though some fans continue to beat the drum of restoring the SnyderVerse, others that replied to Snyder’s post appear to have moved on, but are content knowing that new little pieces like this may continue to trickle out from Snyder as time carries on. “Keep em coming, Boss!” read another reply, while another made some specific requests: “Batfleck when? Or maybe more Green Lantern or Martian Manhunter stuff? Even concept arts? (sic)”
Suffice to say, despite some fans still holding out hope that Snyder will make his return to DC and complete his story, the current landscape for DC comics on the big screen is sticking pretty firm to the plan set by James Gunn. That said, Gunn himself has fanned the flames of Snyder’s return by meeting with the director and posting about it on social media, though he has gone on to say that Snyder isn’t eyeing a DC return in favor of working on his own stories.
Does this mean that in the future that Snyder’s story may get revisited in some form? Stranger things have happened, including the existence of the Snyder Cut itself, but for now, the teases from the man himself are going to have to be enough, at least until something more definitive comes around.
The post The “Perfect” DC Villain Has Just Been Revealed, And Fans Are Disappointed It Can’t Happen appeared first on ComicBook.com.
