Throughout all the production troubles that have plagued The Batman, one thing has always remained as a constant, providing fans with something to hold onto, and that’s Joe Manganiello’s Deathstroke. It’s one of the most exciting bits of casting in a superhero movie in some time and understandably, people are beyond eager to see him bring the character to life – assuming the studio doesn’t cut him out of the script now, that is. If the actor had his way though, he would have shown up in the DCEU as someone totally different, and a lot earlier.
We’ve heard in the past that Manganiello had been in the running to play Superman back when Warner Bros. was putting together Man of Steel, and earlier this week on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, the True Blood star opened up about the experience, noting that he was extremely close to clinching the role and when he wasn’t able to do it because of scheduling issues, it was a huge blow – and understandably so.
“I met with Zack. I had an hour and a half long meeting with Zack which is what was causing all the trouble,” Manganiello said. “I met everybody – everybody involved.”
The actor then mentioned how he got as far as the costume fitting, at which point Warner Bros. called HBO to get Manganiello’s measurements. It was then that the network put their foot down, saying that they wouldn’t be willing to give him as much time off as he would need to film Man of Steel, due to his True Blood commitments. Both the actor and his agent tried their best to get them to budge, but nothing worked, and the whole thing left Manganiello pretty shaken up.
“I’m a sensitive guy,” he said. “I was rocked by the whole thing.”
While it seems like the Magic Mike star will still get a chance to suit up in the DCEU (we hope), losing out on a role like this has got to hurt. But then again, that’s the nature of the business and this kind of stuff happens all the time. Personally, we think he’d make a better Deathstroke than Superman, anyways, and should Matt Reeves and co. decide to keep the character in the script for The Batman, we have no doubt that Manganiello will be a definite highlight in both the film and the DC Extended Universe as a whole when he graces the silver screen.
