Alan Ritchson turned down Batman for a villain he never got to play

If you were hoping to see Alan Ritchson trade in his Reacher fatigues for a Deathstroke mask in the DCU, you might want to shelve those dreams for now. The whole Ritchson-for-Batman frenzy kicked off on the Reacher panel at San Diego Comic-Con last July, when Ritchson — grinning and self-aware as ever — batted away Batman pretty firmly. But he also made it clear he had plenty of chats with DC, and wasn’t above teasing about what, or more likely, who, those chats were actually about. The internet went into its usual detective mode, but he kept it just cryptic enough to make everyone chase their own tails for a month. Then somebody else finally spilled the beans.

Now, every fan theory from Wildcat to Captain Atom got a workout, most of them pretty far-fetched even by comic-book standards. Ritchson helped narrow the pack last November when he told ScreenRant he fancied 'somebody a little messier' — hardly a glowing description of a traditional hero. If you draw the logical lines, that points towards at least the anti-hero or outright villain bracket.

So What Actually Happened?

The latest round of DCU leaks, courtesy of Superman Saga News picking up on an update from Jeff Sneider’s real talk-fest The InSneider, claims the role Ritchson was up for was actually Slade Wilson — aka Deathstroke — in a film that would also feature Bane. That film is still technically untitled and, frankly, barely more than a twinkle in DC’s eye. And, typical of how these things always seem to play out with the DC slate, the same breath that gives us the news also delivers the eulogy: talks are done, the deal’s dead, at least for now.

DC Studios tapped Matthew Orton to write the Bane and Deathstroke film back in September 2024, but it’s barely moved forward since.

This supposed Deathstroke/Bane vehicle first crept onto the radar in September 2024 when the trades reported DC had picked up Matthew Orton to write it. Things got nominally more real in May when word slipped that Greg Mottola (yes, Superbad Greg Mottola) was in the lead to direct, supposedly off the back of helming a chunk of Peacemaker series two. Only, as usual, there’s a huge difference between being 'first choice' and actually signing on — at the time, the script wasn’t even finished and no one had officially said yes to anything. It was, and remains, all smoke and mirrors.

Why Ritchson Would Have Worked

You don’t need to squint to see why Ritchson ended up in these conversations. Deathstroke isn’t your moustache-twirling baddie; he’s more physical brute — a super-soldier, mercenary-for-hire who can fill a room just by standing there. Pretty much the Reacher playbook that’s served Ritchson for four series running. He’d also do it with the right sort of irreverence, as he’s shown everywhere from his Smallville Aquaman cameo years back, to his time as Hawk on Titans.

Speaking of Titans — odd coincidence, but Ritchson actually shared some screen time with Esai Morales, who played Deathstroke on that show. And let’s not forget the film world’s had plenty of misses with Slade Wilson already: Joe Manganiello’s blink-and-you-miss-it cameo in Justice League, and the Ben Affleck-starring Batman film that never made it out of the Batcave.

DCU: Still Spinning Its Wheels

If you’re wondering whether this fizzled-out casting is a sign of drama behind the scenes, don’t bother. DC’s development history is absolutely littered with abandoned projects — Booster Gold ring any bells? In fact, James Gunn and Peter Safran have gone out of their way to say nothing goes forward now until the scripts are solid, so the endless chatter hardly means imminent disaster. The real issue might just be Ritchson’s own calendar. Season 4 of Reacher just hit this month over on Prime Video, Season 5’s already rolling, and he’s got Motor City and War Machine filming as well. Reports from Comic-Con earlier in the year had him locked up until 2028, which, in DC movie years, is almost a generation.