Deathstroke's status in the rapidly changing DCEU is somewhat confusing. At first, it was announced that Joe Manganiello would play the character in Ben Affleck's solo Batman movie, but with Batfleck out and Reeves in, it's still unclear as to whether or not he may appear. It's also unknown as to whether the post-credits scene from Justice League will actually lead to anything either, while the Gareth Evans-helmed Deathstroke standalone movie's status remains unclear.
However, irrespective of whether or not there is a future for Slade Wilson in the DCEU (let's just assume there is), WB would do well to take inspiration from the character's most recent comics. They're sublime, and have been orchestrated by renowned comic book writer Christopher Priest, and even involved the legendary Larry Hama on the first volume's layouts.
Put simply, Priest's Deathstroke is genius. The character may not be the first one you associate with genuinely clever storytelling, but the character's Rebirth years have been nothing short of spectacular, imbuing the villain with a hefty dose of espionage fiction, politics, and even some feuding with the Dark Knight himself.
WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well.
In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.
