Joe Manganiello: Deathstroke casting helped him through a severe health crisis
Joe Manganiello says in his memoir Bloodlines that being cast as Deathstroke helped him during recovery from a near-fatal health crisis.
- According to his account, he was hospitalized in 2016 after collapsing on the set of a Seal Team Six miniseries, where doctors diagnosed an autoimmune disease.
- The Ben Affleck Batman movie in which he would have played Deathstroke is described in the reporting as a planned project that was ultimately scrapped.
What happened
Joe Manganiello says he collapsed on the set of a Seal Team Six miniseries in 2016 and was later hospitalized. According to the reporting, he was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease that affected his thyroid and intestines. Doctors reportedly removed a large portion of his colon, and Manganiello says he used an ostomy bag during recovery. The source set also says he dropped from 235 pounds to 176 pounds during that period, underlining how serious the recovery was.
Around the same time, he had been cast as Deathstroke in a Batman movie from Ben Affleck, who was set to direct and star. Manganiello says that role helped him push through the difficult recovery period. In the available reporting, the film is described as a planned project that was never released. In other words, it is presented as a developed version of a Batman film, not a completed production or theatrical release.
A later SiriusXM clip from 2020 shows how Manganiello viewed Deathstroke: as a dark, almost horror-like antagonist who would tear Bruce Wayne apart from the inside. In that description, he says Deathstroke would be like a shark or a horror-movie villain, taking out everyone around Bruce to make him suffer. That fits the earlier plans for Affleck’s Batman film, but it does not confirm that the project was ever fully realized.
The additional YouTube context in the source set also mentions a suit fitting in which Manganiello hid his health situation from Affleck and the crew. In that description, he says he did not eat for 18 hours to keep his digestive system empty and avoid problems with his ostomy bag. That detail comes from the video description and is not further independently developed in the supplied sources.
Timeline
2016 — Joe Manganiello says he collapsed on the set of a Seal Team Six miniseries and was hospitalized.
2016 — Doctors reportedly diagnosed an autoimmune disease affecting his thyroid and intestines.
2016 — During recovery, Manganiello says a large portion of his colon was removed and he used an ostomy bag.
Late 2010s — Manganiello is cast as Deathstroke in Ben Affleck’s planned Batman movie.
Late 2010s — The Batman movie is described in reporting as a developed or planned project that was eventually scrapped.
2020 — In a SiriusXM clip, Manganiello describes Deathstroke as a dark opponent who would tear Bruce Wayne apart from within.
2020 — The supplied video description mentions a suit fitting where Manganiello did not eat for 18 hours to avoid issues with his ostomy bag.
2026-10-08 — Current reporting on Bloodlines and his health crisis appears in the supplied source set.
Background
The current reporting centers on Manganiello’s memoir Bloodlines, where he looks back on his health and the period when he was linked to Deathstroke. The available sources do not name the specific autoimmune disease, only that it affected his thyroid and intestines. The exact timing of Bloodlines’ publication relative to the article is also unclear in the supplied material.
The Batman movie itself is also described cautiously: the sources refer to a planned or developed project with Ben Affleck, not a released film. The exact production status is not further supported in the supplied material, and no primary studio announcement is included to definitively lock down the project’s status. The available context does show that Manganiello’s version of Deathstroke was still being discussed in interviews and videos in 2020, which suggests the role remained part of his public story even after the film was shelved.
The source set also includes contextual video material about Deathstroke test footage, but the title alone is not enough to support detailed claims. The safe information from the videos is limited to the descriptions: they talk about a dark, horror-like Deathstroke and about the practical effects of Manganiello’s recovery during a suit fitting. That makes clear why the role mattered to him personally, without confirming any extra production details about the film.
Sources
- IGN: Joe Manganiello on Bloodlines, his health crisis, and the Deathstroke casting
- YouTube/SiriusXM: Joe Manganiello on the Future of Deathstroke (2020)
- YouTube: Deathstroke test footage (contextual video information)