Joe Manganiello’s independent superhero movie Archenemy is headed to AMC+. The film, which debuted in December, stars Manganiello, who also produced. The film was written and directed by Adam Egypt Mortimer. According to the press release from AMC+, “Archenemy is a superhero action film starring Joe Manganiello (True Blood, Magic Mike) as Max Fist, a man who claims to be a hero from another dimension who fell through time and space and lost his superpowers when he landed on earth. No one believes his stories except for a local teen named Hamster. Today, Max and Hamster take to the streets to wipe out the local drug syndicate and its vicious crime boss, The Manager.”
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In addition to Manganiello, Archenemy stars Skylan Brooks, Paul Scheer, Glenn Howerton, Zolee Griggs, and Amy Seimetz. In its limited theatrical release from RLJE Films, Archenemy earned $136,240. Manganiello spoke to ComicBook.com about the movie ahead of its release.
“When I initially read the script, it reminded me of those old, What If…? comic books,” Manganiello. “Or even like Supreme Power, which was a more gritty, down-to-earth, modernized retelling of the DC myths or characters. And along those lines, the Supreme Power lines or even like [Superman:] Red Son. It was kind of a, what if Superman landed on the wrong planet? And instead of being charged up by the yellow sun, he was weakened by it? And what if gravity was too high, to the point where he lost the ability to fly and his bones hurt? His body hurts? It just aches. He aged 15 years in one day. What if just by getting here? And then doesn’t have identification, and can’t go to a doctor, and they don’t understand his physiology, all of these things.
“So, to me, it’s what if Superman landed on the wrong planet? But there are moments where it devolves into the Punisher in a way, because who could you be in this world if you don’t have power, so what do you do? So, anyway, I just think that those were some of the things that I thought about. Irredeemable, also another one that gets into the psychological aspects. The world’s greatest hero turned into the world’s greatest villain, and what is the psychological process of falling in that way? And then of course, I’m so influenced by Pat Mills and Marshal Law: Fear and Loathing, that was definitely a big influence on me growing up.”
Will you be checking out Archenemy on AMC+? Let us know in the comments section. Archenemy will debut on AMC+ on July 1st.
