DC Comics Deathstroke film with Joe Manganiello in development

Oct. 26 (UPI) -- Warner Bros. is developing a film based on DC Comics villain Deathstroke that is expected to star Joe Manganiello.

The project will work as a starring vehicle for Manganiello who was first cast as the deadly assassin in September 2016 as the main villain in Ben Affleck's solo Batman film, noted The Hollywood Reporter.

Manganiello's role in Affleck's project has been up in the air, however, after the actor and filmmaker stepped down from directing The Batman. Matt Reeves (War for the Planet of the Apes) is now directing the Batman film.

Filmmaker Gareth Evans who is best known for helming acclaimed action films The Raid and The Raid 2, is in early talks to write and direct the Deathstroke project, reported Entertainment Weekly.

The Deathstroke project is the latest DC Comics film in development that is based on a villain alongside a sequel to Suicide Squad, a Joker and Harley Quinn movie starring Jared Leto and Margot Robbie, Gotham City Sirens that would focus on Quinn, Catwoman and Poison Ivy, and a Joker origin film that takes place outside the DC extended universe.

Deathstroke, aka Slade Wilson, also nicknamed The Terminator, was created by Marv Wolfman and George Perez in 1980. Known for taking on the Teen Titans and hunting down heroes for the right price, Deathstroke possesses incredible strength, reflexes, a brilliant tactical mind and the ability to regenerate.