Last week, Ben Affleck posted a video of the suited-and-booted character who is to be his main antagonist in the new standalone Batman movie. Deathstroke is an assassin and mercenary who first appeared in the comics in 1980 and first battled Batman in 1991 (Deathstroke won).

And on Thursday the man behind the mask was revealed in an interview with DC executive Geoff Johns in the Wall Street Journal: Joe Manganiello, whose biggest movie role to date was as one of Channing Tatum’s coterie of strippers in Magic Mike.

Johns and Affleck are co-writing the script for the new Batman movie, which will be directed by Affleck and is unlikely to be in cinemas before 2018.

The new Justice League movie has recently been shooting in London; Batman features but it is not known whether Deathstroke also has a part.