DCU’s Deathstroke and Bane Movie Has a Director in Its Crosshairs

Because apparently having one brooding antihero in Gotham isn't enough, DC Studios is looking to up the stakes — or at least the testosterone — with a Deathstroke and Bane movie. This thing has been quietly floating around in development, but now, rumor has it, they may have zeroed in on a director who knows how to deliver both action and a decent punchline.

Who's in the Running to Direct?

Deadline is reporting that Greg Mottola is currently the frontrunner to direct this DC villain team-up (or showdown, or... buddy road trip?). Mottola isn't exactly the first name you'd slap a comic-book-action label onto. He's best known for directing Superbad (yes, that Superbad), Adventureland, and the alien comedy Paul. So if you want Deathstroke and Bane making awkward small talk in between fight scenes, he's your guy. More recently, he directed two episodes of HBO's Peacemaker, which shows he's at least got his foot in the DC Studios door.

There are still other directors on the shortlist, so nothing's a done deal. In fact, here's how "early" things are:

• No contracts have been signed.
• No script has been locked down — Matthew Orton is supposedly writing it, but let’s just say nobody’s sending pages around yet.
• This entire project could change direction or vanish into a Warner Bros archive folder by next week.

Why Deathstroke and Bane, and Where Have You Seen Them?

For anyone who's been living under a rock rather than a cave, here's a quick refresher:

Bane — He’s not one of the original 1940s Bat-villains; Bane crashed onto the comic scene in 1993 with Batman: Vengeance of Bane #1. In comic lore, Bane’s the hulked-out genius who famously broke Batman’s back. In movies, we've seen him twice: the criminally goofy muscle (literally) in 1997’s Batman & Robin, and then Tom Hardy’s muffled philosopher in 2012’s The Dark Knight Rises.

Deathstroke — He beat Bane to the punch by a decade, debuting in 1980’s The New Teen Titans #2. Deathstroke (aka Slade Wilson) is your classic super-soldier: ex-U.S. Army, all the tactical skills, amped up by a serum that gives him enhanced everything. He’s a staple in cartoons (the Teen Titans series), live-action (the Arrow and Titans shows), and, very briefly, Joe Manganiello’s cameo in Zack Snyder’s Justice League.

So, What’s Next?

I wouldn’t go clearing your calendar for opening night just yet. There’s a mountain of work to be done before we see Deathstroke and Bane fighting (or bro-hugging?) on the big screen. But Mottola landing the director’s chair would be a pretty weird — and, honestly, kind of intriguing — move for DC Studios. Maybe we’ll get a superhero flick that’s equal parts body count and banter.

For now, all we know is the project’s in the daydream phase, but DC seems determined to expand the Bat-universe beyond Bruce Wayne. And hey, if anyone can get supervillains to make each other laugh, it’s probably the guy behind Superbad.

'Still very early in the search, but Greg Mottola might be the filmmaker with pole position.'