By July 2015, Ben Affleck was in talks to star in, co-write with Geoff Johns, and possibly direct a standalone "Batman" film. In March 2016, Johns claimed that the appearance of Robin's suit covered in graffiti from "Dawn of Justice" would be explored later and the identity of the deceased character was intentionally unspecified. (The film implies that Robin was murdered by the Joker and Harley Quinn.) Following the release of "Dawn of Justice", William Morris Endeavor's co-CEO Patrick Whitesell confirmed that Affleck had written a screenplay for a standalone Batman film that he hoped would be optioned by Warner Bros as well to direct. Warner Bros. CEO Kevin Tsujihara confirmed in April 2016 that the studio was moving ahead with Affleck's stand-alone "Batman" film, which the actor would star in and direct. In May 2016, Affleck stated that his solo "Batman" film would borrow from the comics, but mainly be an "original story". In August 2016, Jared Leto expressed his hope that his version of the Joker would appear in Affleck's "Batman" solo film. Later that month, Deathstroke was teased by Affleck through test footage, later confirmed by Johns that the character would be played by Joe Manganiello. In October 2016, Affleck stated the intended title for the film would be "The Batman", but later clarified that the film could end up having a different title. Manganiello and Irons stated that filming would start in spring 2017.