Ben Affleck’s scrapped Batman movie would have killed Commissioner Gordon, taken Alfred hostage, and nearly killed Batgirl, according to new details from actor Joe Manganiello’s memoir, Bloodlines. Manganiello, cast as the villain Deathstroke back in 2016, lays out the film’s full revenge plot for the first time.
The account surfaced Saturday, October 17, 2026, in excerpts reported by MovieWeb, ComicBook.com and SlashFilm from Manganiello’s new memoir, which followed an earlier Hollywood Reporter excerpt published October 8. Bloodlines released as an audiobook on October 13 and arrives in hardcover on October 20, 2026.
What Deathstroke Was Going to Do to Batman
Affleck’s solo script cast Deathstroke, real name Slade Wilson, as a grieving father rather than a simple assassin: believing Batman had killed his son, Slade set out to “dismantle Batman’s entire life” instead of just fighting him. Manganiello describes the project in the memoir as “a superhero version of David Fincher’s The Game,” the 1997 thriller where a wealthy man’s life is dismantled piece by piece by an elaborate, personal conspiracy.
The specifics, confirmed across multiple outlets that reviewed the memoir, go further than anything previously known about the project: Deathstroke kills Commissioner Jim Gordon (J.K. Simmons), takes Alfred Pennyworth (Jeremy Irons) hostage, and breaks into the Batcave. Gordon’s death was written to push his daughter Barbara into becoming Batgirl. The story builds to Deathstroke nearly killing both Batman and Batgirl before they escape via an above-ground train, then a final one-on-one showdown through the streets of Gotham that Affleck reportedly modeled on the Batman: Arkham Asylum video game.
Why the Movie Fell Apart
Affleck was announced as Deathstroke’s director and co-star in 2016, shortly after Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, with Manganiello cast that September. Affleck stepped down as director in January 2017, and when Zack Snyder’s Justice League opened that November to a disappointing $661.3 million worldwide against a reported $300 million budget, the appetite for another standalone Snyder-era Batman film went with it. By 2019, Affleck had exited the role of Batman entirely, and the script, with Deathstroke’s revenge plot, was never filmed.
A Batman and a Gordon That No Longer Exist
What makes the reveal pure archaeology rather than foreshadowing: the DC continuity Affleck’s script belonged to doesn’t exist anymore. James Gunn and Peter Safran reset DC Studios’ shared universe starting with 2025’s Superman, and the new Batman film, The Brave and the Bold, hasn’t cast its Batman, its Gordon, or a Deathstroke. Every character in Manganiello’s story belongs to a DCEU that was already being wound down by the time Affleck left the role.
| Plot element | Affleck’s unmade script (2016) | Current DCU status |
|---|---|---|
| Commissioner Gordon | Killed by Deathstroke | Not yet cast in Gunn’s DCU |
| Batgirl | Debuts after Gordon’s death | Not confirmed in the new DCU |
| Batman | Ben Affleck, also writing/directing | Uncast; The Brave and the Bold in development |
| Deathstroke | Joe Manganiello | No actor attached in the new DCU |
| Status | Shelved 2017; Affleck exited the role in 2019 | Continuity restarted under Gunn in 2025 |
Warner Bros. and Affleck haven’t publicly responded to the details in Manganiello’s memoir, which The Hollywood Reporter first excerpted on October 8, with the plot specifics reported October 17 by SlashFilm.
Frequently Asked Questions
Was Ben Affleck’s Batman movie officially cancelled?
Yes. Affleck stepped down as director in January 2017 and exited the role of Batman entirely by 2019, after which the solo film he had written was never produced.
Who was cast as Deathstroke in Ben Affleck’s Batman movie?
Joe Manganiello, announced in September 2016. He writes about the role and the film’s plot in his 2026 memoir, Bloodlines.
Does the cancelled plot connect to the current DCU?
No. James Gunn and Peter Safran restarted DC Studios’ shared continuity with Superman in 2025, and the new Batman film, The Brave and the Bold, has not cast Batman, Gordon or Deathstroke.
When does Joe Manganiello’s memoir Bloodlines come out?
The audiobook released October 13, 2026, and the hardcover arrives October 20, 2026, from Avid Reader Press.
