Ben Affleck tweeted a short video today supposedly from the set of Justice League giving his followers a tantalizing glimpse of an iconic DC Comics character who, according to a source for Umberto Gonzalez’s original story at The Wrap, could be the main villain in the untitled standalone Batman movie Affleck will star in as well as co-write, produce, and direct. Check out the video below of the reveal of Deathstroke.

https://t.co/0NsNzCtGip

— Ben Affleck (@BenAffleck) August 29, 2016

The character in question is Slade Wilson, also known as Deathstroke – the masked mercenary and assassin created by Marv Wolfman and George Perez who has been one of the DC Universe’s most popular villains and antiheroes since he first appeared in the pages of The New Teen Titans #2 in 1980. Affleck’s video implies Deathstroke could make his first appearance in the upcoming Justice League, possibly as a minor league threat who gets taken down fast before he returns in the solo Batman film, rumored to be titled The Batman.

Affleck was confirmed to direct the Batman reboot at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con. The script he is co-writing with DC Films co-chief Geoff Johns is an original story that borrows certain narrative elements from the comics and is rumored to take place in Arkham Asylum where Batman will encounter more than one member of his legendary rogues’ gallery.

Deathstroke has previously appeared in live-action form on the CW’s DC-inspired series Smallville and Arrow, and he has also popped up in several of the DC Universe direct-to-video animated features including Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox and Son of Batman. Prior to the release of this year’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, a long and excruciatingly-detailed fan theory circulated online suggesting that Affleck was secretly playing Deathstroke having assumed the mantle of Batman.

The role of Deathstroke has yet to be cast and it is unknown who the actor is playing him in the tweeted video and whether or not it’s the same actor who will appear as the character in Justice League and the Batman reboot.

Justice League arrives in theaters on November 17, 2017. Affleck’s Batman film doesn’t have a release date yet, but Warner Bros. does have October 5, 2018 and November 1, 2019 set aside for untitled DC Extended Universe projects. Affleck’s first solo outing as the Dark Knight could end up occupying one of those dates.

[Source: @BenAffleck | The Wrap]