Batman Villains Bane and Deathstroke to Get New DC Movie

Two key Batman villains are uniting for their own movie, which is set in the rebooted DC universe.

The as-yet-untitled film stars Bane, the hulking figure famous for breaking Batman’s back, and Deathstroke, a popular archnemesis with superhuman combat abilities and genius-level intellect.

According to THR , DC co-CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran are developing a script from Matthew Orton, who also co-wrote Marvel’s upcoming Captain America: Brave New World . There’s no director attached yet.

It’s the latest of many Batman villain-led spinoffs for DC and Warner Bros. 2019’s Joker got the ball rolling with Joaquin Phoenix in the lead role as Batman’s most notorious bad guy, with Colin Farrell’s performance as Oz Cobb currently earning rave reviews in HBO series The Penguin . Speaking of which, make sure to read our interview with The Penguin production designer on her capturing the darkest side of Gotham .

And let’s not forget antiheroine Harley Quinn’s solo movie, Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) .

It’s not clear if Bane and Deathstroke’s movie is set in the same DCU as Matt Reeves’ The Batman and The Penguin , or if it’s a separate universe like both Joker and Joker: Folie à Deux . However, there’s lots of rich history to mine for both characters.

Bane debuted in 1993 comic Batman: Vengeance of Bane #1 , and was portrayed by Tom Hardy in Chris Nolan’s third and final Batman film, The Dark Knight Rises . Deathstroke, meanwhile, made his introduction in 1980 comic The New Teen Titans #2 . He briefly appeared in the post-credits scene for Zack Synder’s Justice League , with Joe Manganiello playing the one-eyed, super-enhanced master assassin.

Deathstroke was reportedly going to get his own movie from The Raid director Gareth Evans before plans fell through. With the upcoming Bane and Deathstroke movie, though, they’ll both get the spotlight they deserve.