Joe Manganiello says the offer to play Deathstroke in Ben Affleck’s Batman film arrived while he was recovering from a near-fatal illness, and that the role gave him a reason to get better. He tells the story in an excerpt from his memoir *Bloodlines*, published by The Hollywood Reporter.
According to the excerpt, Manganiello collapsed on the set of the series *Six* in North Carolina in 2016. An autoimmune disease doctors couldn’t explain had been attacking his thyroid and intestines. He writes that surgeons removed his large intestine, leaving him with an ostomy bag, and that his weight dropped from 235 pounds to 176 during the hospital stay.
An offer he wasn’t supposed to take
Just as he began to recover, his agent called with news that Affleck wanted him as Slade Wilson, the villain of a planned standalone Batman film. Sofia Vergara, then his wife, urged him not to take it. Manganiello writes that she “couldn’t bring herself to congratulate” him, and that he saw the role differently: “The role contained the shred of hope that I might get my life back in some capacity, and I had to believe it was possible.”
Entertainment Weekly notes that he describes the job as a goal to work towards, a way to believe he could handle months of shooting a superhero film a year later. Manganiello also writes that he hid his condition from Affleck and the crew.
The costume fitting was the hardest test. IGN reports that he didn’t eat for 18 hours beforehand so the bag would be empty, because the tight spandex and armour could otherwise have compressed it. TMZ’s account of the excerpt says he stopped eating the afternoon before.
What happened to the film
Affleck’s Batman project never reached cinemas. Warner Bros. rebooted the character with Robert Pattinson and director Matt Reeves, and Affleck has said he stepped back from the film while struggling with alcoholism and depression. Reeves’s sequel has its own troubles: The Batman Part II recently paused production as he stepped away.
Manganiello did appear briefly as Deathstroke in the theatrical and director’s cuts of *Justice League*. In 2020, he described Affleck’s planned story as a dark one, with Deathstroke acting “like a shark or a horror movie villain” dismantling Bruce Wayne’s life from the inside out. In 2021, he said he had worked on an origin treatment with the studio for about six months and would play the part again if it became a priority.
That looks unlikely under James Gunn’s DC Universe, where Greg Mottola was reportedly eyed for a Bane and Deathstroke movie earlier this year. Affleck, meanwhile, has ruled out a run for office while promoting his Netflix film.
Who was Joe Manganiello going to play in Ben Affleck’s Batman film?
Slade Wilson, better known as Deathstroke, the main antagonist of a planned standalone Batman film that Affleck was set to direct and star in. The project was later cancelled.
Has Manganiello played Deathstroke on screen?
Yes, in brief cameos in the theatrical and director’s cuts of *Justice League*.
Is *Bloodlines* out yet?
The excerpt was published on 8 October 2026 and describes the book as his new memoir. Entertainment Weekly refers to it as forthcoming, so check the release date with retailers before ordering.
