Joe Manganiello Reveals He Was Offered Role in Marvel Movie After Spider-Man

In the years between when Joe Manganiello played Flash Thompson in the Sam Raimi Spider-Man trilogy, and when he came to the DC Films universe as Deathstroke in Justice League, he was one of the most frequently-fancast actors in the superhero sphere. Everyone from Batman to Superman to Thor had fans who were lobbying to see the True Blood actor don their respective capes. Apparently, though, somewhere along the line, management got the same idea, and he was offered a role in a Marvel movie. The revelation came out of his spotlight panel this weekend at JusticeCon, and he declined to elaborate, but it’s likely we’ll get plenty of fan speculation in the weeks to come.

The answer came up in the context of questions about a return to the Spider-Verse. Asked whether he would ever consider returning to play Flash Gordon again, Manganiello said that he wouldn’t do it for a glorified cameo, and that it would have to be an interesting part of whatever comes next.

“It depends what it consists of,” Manganiello said. “With Sony doing Sinister Six, putting together their universe, the X-Men coming over to Disney, and the possibility of Secret Wars surfacing at some point in the future, I just think there are so many amazing characters in Marvel. I will say I was actually offered a part in a Marvel film a few years ago…I grew up on Marvel comics so if I was going to join the universe, I really want it to be the right role and I think sometimes you have to hold out for that right one. So, a little cameo as Flash Thompson, I’d rather do something more substantive — [play] someone who can stick around for a while.”

You can see the video below.

In Zack Snyder’s Justice League, determined to ensure Superman’s (Henry Cavill) ultimate sacrifice was not in vain, Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck) aligns forces with Diana Prince (Gal Gadot) with plans to recruit a team of metahumans to protect the world from an approaching threat of catastrophic proportions. The task proves more difficult than Bruce imagined, as each of the recruits must face the demons of their own pasts to transcend that which has held them back, allowing them to come together, finally forming an unprecedented league of heroes. Now united, Batman (Affleck), Wonder Woman (Gadot), Aquaman (Jason Momoa), Cyborg (Ray Fisher) and The Flash (Ezra Miller) may be too late to save the planet from Steppenwolf, DeSaad and Darkseid and their dreadful intentions.

You can see Zack Snyder’s Justice League — in color, or in the black-and-white “Justice is Gray” edition — on HBO Max.