Six months before Warner Bros. officially announced theirSuicide Squadmovie back in September 2014, The CW’s hit TV seriesArrowintroduced their own version of this villainous group, which featuredDC Comicscharacters Amanda Waller (Cynthia Addai-Robinson), Deadshot (Michael Rowe), Bronze Tiger (Michael Jai White) and Shrapnel (Sean Maher). While this lineup is obviously much different than theSuicide Squadmovie lineup, the series eventually killed off both Amanda Waller and Deadshot, leading fans to speculate if they were removed because of theSuicide Squadmovie. Another pivotalArrowcharacter, Deathstroke (Manu Bennett) hasn’t been seen sinceSeason 3, andArrowexecutive producerMarc Guggenheimrecently teased on hisTumblrpage that he won’t be popping up anytime soon, since he is “currently tied up in another DC project.”
It has been clear from the start that theDC Extended Universeexists separately from the TV universe, which allows for two different versions of a character likeBarry Allento be played by two different actors,Grant GustinonThe FlashTV series andEzra Millerin the upcomingThe Flashmovie set to hit theaters in 2018. Still, it seems that DC could be “forcing” shows likeArrowto kill off characters who will be featured in their upcoming movies, but there is no proof that this is actually happening.
Marc Guggenheimwouldn’t specifically say which “DC project” thatDeathstrokewould be involved in, but a rumor surfaced this past summer thatScott Eastwood’s mysterious character inSuicide Squadmay actually be Slade Wilson, a.k.a. Deathstroke. The actor’s character still hasn’t been confirmed at this time, so we’ll have to wait and see. It’s possible that Deathstroke may also be featured in any number of Warner Bros.' DC movies, but we don’t know for sure at this time. AfterManu Bennett’s Deathstroke had a major arc inArrow Season 2, he only appeared in oneSeason 3episode, and hasn’t been seen since then.
Marc Guggenheimalso responded to a fan, who claimed he previously said that Deadshot was off limits, but both Waller and Deathstroke were safe, before Waller was killed and Deathstroke seemingly disappeared from the show. The fan claimed thatArrowcharacters being killed off for theSuicide Squadmovie was a “slap in the face” toArrowfans, but the producer responded, “Um… I never said that.” Since it’s been established that both the movie and TV universes are separate, it’s intriguing how certainArrowcharacters have been disappearing as we get closer toSuicide Squad’s release.
If Deathstroke is in fact being used for an upcoming DC movie, then it seems unlikely thatManu Bennettwill reprise that role fromArrow. However, it’s also possible that he may be used in the new seriesDC’s Legends of Tomorrow, but that hasn’t been confirmed either. What do you think about Deathstroke moving over to the DCEU? Chime in with your thoughts, and stay tuned for more updates.
