New DC Report Reveals Warner Bros Prioritizing Bane & Deathstroke Movie After Supergirl Disappointment

This weekend saw the second film of the DCU, the highly-anticipated Supergirl movie, officially arrive in theaters, and like many other attempts at expanding a new cinematic universe, it didn’t exactly soar. With a mixed 56% on Rotten Tomatoes, the Milly Alcock-starring film debuted to a worldwide total of $68 million at the global box office, with its $38 million gross in the US a third the size of Superman‘s last summer (and $1 million less than the Jared Leto-starring Morbius). As one might expect, negativity like this has led to a lot of chatter and discourse online about the future of the nascent DCU.

via: Screen Rant

DC Studios has been busy of late with the recent release of Supergirl and the upcoming release of the Superman sequel titled Man of Tomorrow. It was originally founded in 2016 as DC Films to manage the DC Extended Universe, and was rebranded recently in 2022 under the new leadership of co-CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran. Now, with the rebranding, fan-favorite heroes are getting a whole new look, as well as the villains.

The Wrap has reported that Captain America: Brave New World writer Matthew Orton has been tapped to write a Bane and Deathstroke movie for DC Studios, according to an insider. No director has been announced for the movie as yet. Deathstroke was originally written as a one-off villain for the Teen Titans, but has since become a frequent addition. Bane's last live-action appearance was in the 2012 film The Dark Knight Rises with Tom Hardy as the deadly character.

It was reported earlier this year that Greg Mottola, who helmed episodes of Peacemaker, is one of the main contenders to direct the untitled Deathstroke and Bane spinoff movie. News of this Batman villain movie first came in 2024, and now the latest news indicates the movie is indeed going ahead as planned with Orton on board.

Deathstroke was created in 1980 by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez for the New Teen Titans #2. As previously stated, he was initially created as a one-off appearance, but due to popularity and fan appreciation, he has since transcended his comic book origins to become a massive, well-known Supervillain in the DC universe. His powers include superhuman strength, agility, stamina, accelerated healing, and an enhanced brain.

Deathstroke/Slade Wilson was first made into live-action for season 10 of the television series Smallville with Michael Hogan portraying the villain. The character has also appeared in The CW's Arrow, Justice League, and HBO Max's Titans.

Bane was created by writers Chuck Dixon and Doug Moench, and artist Graham Nolan, with his first appearance in the 1993 Batman: Vengeance of Bane #1. He's a venom-fueled formidable adversary for Batman, and is famous for being the only villain to successfully "break the bat." His first live-action appearance was in the 1997 movie Batman & Robin and was portrayed by wrestler Robert "Jeep" Swenson.

The iconic DC villains are finally getting the Hollywood movie treatment.