Back in the fall, rumors cropped up that “True Blood” star Joe Manganiello was in talks to put on the tights in Zack Snyder‘s forthcoming “Superman.” At the time, Manganiello addressed the rumors by hitting Twitter and saying, “just to be clear… as of today, I am not ‘negotiating’ to play SuperMan… but keep your fingers crossed and thanks for the wishful thinking.” Well, either someone’s been crossing their fingers or an old rumor has been given fresh life.
Geoff Boucher, of the LA Times Hero Complex, recently tweeted, “Is “True Blood” werewolf star Joe Manganiello a frontrunner to play Superman? That’s the rumor du jour in Hollywood.” His colleagues over at the paper’s Ministry Of Gossip section followed up on the story revealing, “At last week’s Academy Bake Off, a celebration of visual effects in film, talk around the room (especially from the team working on the new “Superman”) said Manganiello kept popping up in serious talks about a new face for the franchise.” And well….that’s about it.
At this point, it’s a lot of speculation and we wouldn’t be surprised if it’s just the old rumor being given fresh legs. But sure, he’s about the right age, and has the physique and square-jawed look to pull it off, but you can still file this one under rumor for now.