DC has big plans for Deathstroke in its cinematic universe, but they come with a cost: the masked mercenary has to stop appearing on TV. That means his small screen counterpart, which just made a triumphant return in "Arrow" seasons 5 and 6, will have to disappear from the Arrowverse again in the foreseeable future.
Discussing the murky process that determines which characters they get to play with over in DC's TV universe, Arrow co-showrunner Marc Guggenheim told Discussing Film at ACE Comic Con that those who are involved in the big screen are off the table. As he puts it, they are merely renting the DC characters they use.
"We use the characters that they tell us we can use when we can use them, and we work around whatever limitations that places us," Guggenheim explained. Deathstroke, of course, is no exemption from this. "For a time they were saying 'you can't use Deathstroke'," he continued, "and that changed and we were able to have Slade Wilson back on the show, and now we're back to 'you can't use him.'"
As previously reported, DC and Warner Bros. are working on the one-eyed assassin's standalone film with Joe Manganiello in the lead. While it is still in development, the studios already introduced him in the DC Extended Universe through one of "Justice League's" post-credit scenes.
Deathstroke is not the first character to become off-limits for "Arrow," though. According to Screen Rant, the CW series was supposed to build a "Suicide Squad" arc using the character of John Diggle (David Ramsey). Harley Quinn was even rumored to appear at one point, but those plans were scrapped when David Ayer's anti-hero film was put into production.
The latest news is a real bummer for those who like Arrowverse's Deathstroke, but even Manu Bennett who portrayed the said version has no hard feelings about the direction DC chose to take. Earlier this month, the TV actor said he is excited to see what Manganiello would bring to the role and gave his best feeling of support to his fellow DC star.
Then again, the Deathstroke standalone film does not necessarily mean the end of Bennett's tenure in Arrowverse. Guggenheim said there are intervals in between films and they take advantage of the opportunities that pop up. Thus, Bennett's version may still return on the small screen should there be a wide enough gap in the DCEU.
"Arrow" returns from its winter hiatus on The CW on Thursday, Jan. 18, at 9 p.m. EST.
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