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Joe Manganiello says the offer to play Deathstroke gave him something to hold onto while he was recovering from a near-fatal illness. He describes the role as a reason to believe he could get his life back. The account comes from his memoir Bloodlines, as reported by Tbreak in October 2026. The Deathstroke role he was offered was in a Ben Affleck Batman film that was never made, so the story is about a planned movie, not a released one.
What Manganiello says the offer meant to him
In his account, the Deathstroke offer arrived while he was starting to recover. He says it contained a sliver of hope that he might get his life back in some form, and that he had to believe that was possible. The quote, as published by Tbreak, reads: “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.”
Manganiello presents that link as his own interpretation of what happened. It is a personal account of how a professional goal affected his mindset during a medical crisis. It is not a medical finding, and nothing in the reporting says doctors credited the role with his recovery.
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The health crisis as Manganiello describes it
According to the Tbreak report on the memoir excerpt, Manganiello collapsed in 2016 while working on the film Six in North Carolina. He was treated for an autoimmune illness that doctors could not explain, and he underwent surgery that removed his large intestine. The report also says his hospital stay took place in 2016.
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These details come from Manganiello’s memoir as summarized by Tbreak. The original excerpt link returned a payment-required error when the report was reviewed, so the medical specifics cannot be checked against the book or against hospital records. Readers should treat them as his firsthand account.
The report also gives a weight change, 235 pounds to 176 pounds. That is a personal figure from the memoir, not a clinical measurement or a published statistic. It cannot be generalized to other patients.
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How the Batman casting was reported
Manganiello’s casting as Deathstroke was announced during the production of Affleck’s planned standalone Batman film. The timeline below shows what each source said and when.
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1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors| Date | Source | What it reported |
|---|---|---|
| September 8, 2016 | TIME | Reported Manganiello would play supervillain Deathstroke in Affleck’s Batman film. Geoff Johns confirmed the casting in a report cited by TIME. |
| October 17, 2016 | TheWrap, citing Entertainment Tonight | Manganiello said: “Great man, just getting ready to go shoot Batman in the Spring.” This reflected the production plan at that time. |
| 2021 | Entertainment Tonight, interview dated March 24, 2021 | Manganiello said the Batman movie was cancelled and that the project shifted toward Robert Pattinson’s The Batman. |
| March 12, 2021 | Vanity Fair | Reported that Manganiello’s original Justice League post-credits cameo was meant to lead into a larger role in Affleck’s standalone film. |
The 2016 quotes describe a plan, not a finished film. The 2021 interview and the Vanity Fair retrospective both establish that the Affleck film did not happen.
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Where Deathstroke appeared instead
Manganiello did play Deathstroke in Justice League material. His appearance in the Zack Snyder’s Justice League version, including the restored sequence, is documented in the Entertainment Tonight interview from March 2021, which covered him suiting up as the character again. The Vanity Fair retrospective from the same month covers how the original cameo was meant to set up the Affleck film.
So Deathstroke was the character Manganiello was tied to through two projects, but only the Justice League version reached audiences.
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What the sources do and do not establish
- Established: Manganiello was reported as cast as Deathstroke in Affleck’s planned Batman film in 2016, and that film was cancelled.
- Established: He played Deathstroke in Justice League material, including the Snyder Cut.
- Reported by Manganiello, not independently verified: the autoimmune diagnosis, the surgery, the 2016 hospital stay, and the weight change.
- Not established: any clinical evidence that the role affected his recovery. The claim rests on his own account.
His memoir Bloodlines is the source of the health account. This article did not confirm current editions or purchase options for the book.
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Quick Recap
Sources
- Tbreak, Dima Mohanna, “Joe Manganiello says the Deathstroke offer helped him survive a near-fatal illness,” October 8, 2026.
- Entertainment Tonight, John Boone, “Joe Manganiello on Suiting Up as Deathstroke Again for ‘Zack Snyder’s Justice League’,” March 24, 2021.
- Vanity Fair, Anthony Breznican, “‘Justice League’: The Untold Story of Cyborg and Deathstroke,” March 12, 2021.
- TheWrap, Umberto Gonzalez, “Joe Manganiello Reveals When Ben Affleck’s ‘The Batman’ Will Begin Production,” October 17, 2016.
- TIME, “Joe Manganiello to Play Supervillain Deathstroke in Ben Affleck’s Batman Film,” September 8, 2016.
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