Casting decisions have a significant impact on how a character is portrayed in superhero movies. Henry Cavill was cast as Superman in Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel, much to the delight of viewers everywhere. But what if we told you that the fearsome Deathstroke from the DCEU, played by Joe Manganiello, was almost cast in the iconic red cape at first?
His chiseled frame, charm, and undeniable acting skills caught the attention of director Zack Snyder during the early stages of casting for the 2013 superhero film. The creators thought Manganiello could give Superman a new perspective and possibly change the way he appeared on screen.
In other words, the Magic Mike star, who ultimately ended up playing a villain in Justice League, was Snyder’s secret second choice for Superman if Henry Cavill had said no.
Before Deathstroke, Joe Manganiello Was Almost Cast in Zack Snyder’s Man Of Steel
It would have been intriguing to see Joe Manganiello’s take on the character of Superman had he been given the role. Zack Snyder confirmed in an interview with Entertainment Weekly that he had considered the Justice League actor for the Clark Kent role because
“Joe’s a great guy. I really liked him.”
What then happened that affected his choice?
“It was about seeing a quality that inspires this inexplicable, mysterious, cool emotion that says, ‘That’s my guy.”’
Snyder also talked to MTV News about it back in March 2011. This happened not long after Henry Cavill’s casting as Superman in Man of Steel had been announced. The director revealed why The Witcher star was chosen over Manganiello:
“Henry’s just … I love Joe too, by the way. Really he was the only other guy I was thinking of, to be honest, other than Henry. But in the end, I think Henry just has this innocence too [in addition to the look and physicality required for the role], he has both, which is tricky. Superman needs the teeniest bit of that. Not to be overt, but you like it to be there ever so slightly. I mean, he grew up in Kansas, that’s just true, so you need a little of that [innocence].”
Did Joe Manganiello Regret Not Getting The Superman Role?
Joe Manganiello acknowledged that he missed out on a once-in-a-lifetime chance to play the iconic DC superhero role because of his dedication to the HBO vampire series, True Blood.
In an interview with MTV’s Happy Sad Confused podcast, Manganiello claimed that he had reached the point of measuring the Superhero costumes before things went south. He claimed:
“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.”
The actor alleged he had to “get in a place of gratitude” for his work on True Blood, which was the reason he thought he was “noticed in the first place,” in order to deal with the missed opportunity.
After missing out on his chance, Manganiello joined the series as the menacing assassin Deathstroke in Zack Snyder’s Justice League. He was recently seen as Reggie in The Kill Room, a dark comedy thriller directed by Nicol Paone. The film also stars Maya Hawke, Uma Thurman, Debi Mazar, Samuel L. Jackson, and Dree Hemingway.
Anyway, you can stream Man of Steel on Max and Justice League is available on Amazon Prime Video.
