The man behind Deathstroke's mask: Who is 'The Batman' actor Joe Manganiello?

ALMOST unrecognisable since his 2002 appearance in "Spider-Man," Joe Manganiello is set to appear in the next standalone Batman film as supervillain Deathstroke.

Rumors about Ben Affleck's next "Batman" film got into high gear when the actor, director and producer posted a teaser video to his Twitter account late on in August.

In what looked like early test footage, a masked figure approached the camera, his black body armor daubed with orange highlights.

The costume matched that of longstanding Batman adversary Deathstroke, but thanks to a full-face helmet, the actor's identity remained unknown.

Previous speculation had included Darren Criss of "Glee," who had been seen at the time with Affleck and Margot Robbie, another star in Warner Bros' DC Comics adaptations.

Julian Lewis of "Invictus," cast in Warner Bros' ensemble "Justice League" for an unnamed role, had also been linked to the role.

But it's Joe Manganiello, who made his feature film debut in Marvel's "Spider-Man" as school bully Flash Thompson, who is opposite Affleck in "The Batman," as DC Entertainment president Geoff Johns told the WSJ.

That's two for two actors in "The Batman" that have gone from Marvel to DC, with Affleck having led 2003's "Daredevil."

Though debuting on film, Manganiello grew his reputation through television work.

Seven episodes over seven seasons of comedy series "How I Met Your Mother" and a four-episode run on "E.R." paved the way for a recurring role on "One Tree Hill" (for The CW network) and, ultimately, 43 episodes' worth of HBO vampire fantasy drama "True Blood."

In film, he's recently appeared in both "Magic Mike" comedies to date, as a member of a troupe of male strippers; that's on top of "What to Expect When You're Expecting," Terrence Malick drama "Knight of Cups," and tough guy action flick "Sabotage."

Just as his wife Sofía Vergara ("Modern Family") voiced a character in animated feature "The Smurfs," one of Manganiello's other upcoming roles is in 2017 franchise entry, "Smurfs: The Lost Village."

"The Batman" is not expected until at least 2018, though Deathstroke could yet appear in "Justice League," currently set for November 2017.