Joe Manganiello Was Actually In Line To Play Superman Before He Was Considered For Deathstroke

Joe Manganiello was in line to play Deathstroke in Ben Affleck's The Batman before it was issued a page one rewrite, but did you know that he was actually up to play another beloved DC character? Apparently Manganiello was considered to play Superman himself in Man of Steel.

Manganiello revealed that the reason why the deal didn't push through was because of scheduling conflicts with the HBO show he was starring in, True Blood. In an interview with the Happy Sad Confused Podcast on MTV, Manganiello said:

"I met with Zack. I had an hour and a half long meeting with Zack, which is what was causing all the trouble. … I went ahead and met with casting, and then they all brought me over to meet Zack. I met the producers, I met with Jon Jashni and Thomas Tull at Legendary, I met everybody – everybody involved – and then finally sat down with Zack for an hour and a half and had a big conversation about the character and where it was going, et cetera. Then they called the True Blood costume shop for my measurements to build my suit and that's what caused – that's when it stopped."

Of course, we all know what happened next. The production cast Henry Cavill, and the movie was still considered to be critically divisive when it came out. Though Manganiello might not be as big of name as Cavill now, some may consider that he's dodged a bullet when it comes to Man of Steel.

Actually, I think that Cavill is actually perfectly cast as Superman, the only problem is that Zack Snyder doesn't seem to know how to handle the character well. Batman v Superman was the second time we saw Cavill as Superman, and what happens? He gets killed in the end! Let the audience build some empathy for him at least.

Though Manganiello's future in the DC universe is still unsure, we do know that Superman will return in Justice League this Nov. 17.

See Also: Dungeons & Dragons Film Script Being Written By Joe Manganiello