Jim Gordon dies in Ben Affleck’s canceled Batman movie — and that’s not all

For fans who still grumble about the Batman movie Ben Affleck never got to make, there’s fresh meat to chew on. Joe Manganiello has just spilled a load of previously-unknown plot details from the cancelled project, and frankly, the script sounds madder than most assumed.

Joe Manganiello’s memoir, Bloodlines, hit shelves on 13 October 2026 and spills new details about the scrapped Affleck-led Batman film.

Deathstroke Unleashed

Let’s cut straight to the good stuff: in Manganiello’s new memoir Bloodlines, he opens the lid on what his version of Deathstroke was set to do in Affleck’s stillborn Bat-flick. The story would have kicked off with Deathstroke being manipulated into believing that Batman killed his own son. Standard stuff for Gotham, until you realise how personal and brutal things would have got: Deathstroke’s whole raison d’etre was to rip Bruce Wayne’s life to pieces in revenge.

This was absolutely not your bog-standard “thief robs bank, Batman nabs him” plot. Deathstroke, according to Manganiello’s reveal, would've been genuinely out for blood. Manganiello claims his character would’ve come shockingly close to killing both Batman and Batgirl – and only a last-minute escape on an aboveground train stopped him finishing the job. Whether the film would’ve managed to make these train shenanigans more interesting than 90 percent of caped chases is one question we may never answer.

If that wasn’t bleak enough, the script would have had Deathstroke murder Commissioner Gordon outright, then smash his way into the Batcave to take Alfred hostage – a pretty dark turn by any franchise standard. Clearly, Affleck and screenwriter Geoff Johns were aiming for something much more personal and savage than the usual Bat-villain chaos.

The Final Showdown & Disappearing Act

The climax, as Manganiello tells it, would have been a brutal Batman vs Deathstroke fight, inspired by the Arkham Asylum video game scrap – which, if you’ve played it, is frankly one of the most famous boss fights ever put to console.

Manganiello’s time as Deathstroke did make a short onscreen appearance in the post-credits of both versions of Justice League. But his standalone film, with Affleck both starring and directing, famously fizzled out before cameras rolled. Depending who you ask, it was studio meddling, duff rewrites, or Affleck himself losing interest that finally killed the project. He left it all behind in 2019, and since then the Bat-mantle has passed on yet again.

• Manganiello’s Deathstroke would’ve been manipulated into believing Batman killed his son
• The villain sought total revenge: nearly killing Batman and Batgirl, murdering Commissioner Gordon, and taking Alfred hostage
• The finale promised a boss-fight inspired by Arkham Asylum’s video game
• Ben Affleck abandoned the film in 2019, reportedly due to ongoing creative headbutting and script woes