Bane and Deathstroke, two of Batman‘s biggest archnemeses in the comic book series, are set to appear together in a new movie for DC Studios, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Matthew Orton, a scribe on the upcoming Captain America: Brave New World film, is developing a script for the feature for the James Gunn and Peter Safran-led studio. No director is attached to the project yet, however.
Bane has been most famously showcased in film in the 2012 Christopher Nolan-directed drama, The Dark Knight Rises. The character was played by Tom Hardy in the last entry of the Dark Knight trilogy.
Bane is a relatively recent addition to the Batman universe, with writer Chuck Dixon and artist Graham Nolan creating him in the early 1990s. The character was born and raised in a prison on a fictional Caribbean isle. While there, he was able to hone his fighting skills and learn from a diverse group of international criminals. He later was the subject of a horrific steroidal test that left him incredibly strong but also addicted to serums. He eventually escaped the prison and traveled to Gotham City.
One of the character’s most epic storylines in the comic book series was Knightfall, in which he brutally broke Batman’s back. The plot catapulted him to become of the biggest villains in the Batman universe, and also loosely inspired his storyline in The Dark Knight Rises. The character has also appeared in numerous video games and TV series.
Deathstroke was initially introduced in 1980 to be a one-off villain for the Teen Titans. His initial story followed him as he took over a contract to kill the team after his son succumbed to his own superhuman enhancements.
But the master assassin eventually become so well-received that he became one of DC’s most enduring adversaries of Batman and the Justice League. He also headlined his own comic title several times.
The character, who was created by scribe Marv Wolfman and artist George Perez, has also appeared in video games and animated shows and movies. Esai Morales played the character in the recent live-action Titans series. Joe Manganiello, meanwhile, appeared in a cameo role as the one-eyed killer in some of Zack Snyder’s DC movies.
At one point, Deathstroke was set to be the villain of The Batman, when Ben Affleck was attached to helm and star in the feature. At another point, the character was also attached to appear as the lead character in his own film from The Raid director Gareth Evans.
DC and Warner Bros. have found considerable success in highlighting villains in features in recent years. One of the most prominent examples is Joker from co-writer-helmer Todd Phillips, which offers a unique take on the Clown Prince of Crime. The drama earned $1 billion at the box office when it was released in 2019, and earned star Joaquin Phoenix an Oscar, as well as a Golden Globe, SAG and BAFTA Award. Its sequel, Joker: Folie à Deux, premiered at the Venice Film Festival and is set to open in theaters this Friday, Oct. 4.
Another prime example of a successful project with a Batman villain in the lead role is The Penguin. The project is a spinoff miniseries from director Matt Reeves’ 2022 action crime movie, The Batman. Colin Farrell reprised his titular role on the show. from the film. The eight-episode series has garnered strong reviews when it debuted Sept. 19 on HBO.
Another Batman universe antiheroine, Harley Quinn, was played by Margot Robbie in a trio of movies. She most recently appeared in the 2021 Gunn-helmed film, The Suicide Squad.
Orton is known for penning grounded and gritty work involving criminals and killers. His first scribing credit was on Operation Finale, the true-life drama that chronicled the plan to capture Nazi SS officer Adolf Eichmann, one of the architects of the Holocaust. Chris Weitz directed the historical drama, which starred Oscar Isaac and Ben Kingsley as Eichmann.
The writer also created Devil’s Peak, a serial killer crime miniseries made by South Africa’s DSTV. He also penned the upcoming hostage thriller Cleaner, which stars Clive Owen and Daisy Ridley. The Captain America: Brave New World scribe also worked with Marvel on its 2022 superhero television miniseries, Moon Knight.
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