SUPERMAN Reboot Potential Actor Rumors Swirl: Joe Manganiello, John Cena and Dwayne Johnson

As details begin to leak out on Superman: Man of Steel, the internet heats up with rumors on who may play the lead role. Here is a roundup of some of the latest.

The race for who will play Superman is taking off in a single bound. Production is still many months away rumors are taking off on who will don the tights. Names that have been thrown out over the last week or so have been Armie Hammer, Jon Hamm and Patrick Wilson. Of course, Brandon Routh and Tom Welling rumors will not cease as both fan bases continue to try and keep their names in the mix. A few new names have now been added from last few days.

First up is True Blood actor Joe Manganiello. The actor supposedly revealed that he's in contention for the Superman reboot during an appearance at EyeCon in Florida this past weekend, according to True-Blood.net. Manganiello quickly posted on his Twitter account to downplay the rumor but is clearly interested in the role. The use of 'negotiating' in quotes could mean there has been early interest from studios...or in the rumor mill we live in, absolutely nothing at all.

Just to be clear... as of today, I am not 'negotiating' to play Superman," he wrote. "But keep your fingers crossed and thanks for the wishful thinking!

They continued to fan the internet flames by stating that both Routh and Welling are still in contention to be the next Man of Steel.

Next up is some much more far-fetched suggestions. The Examiner is suggesting that wrestlers-turned-actors John Cena and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson are in contention for the role. It would seem these two are very low on the believability meter. The Examiner is a site that takes user contributions and focuses different versions geared towards individual city markets.


It would seem that a younger actor will be approached to play Superman. It makes sense financially for sequels so the actor does not get too old for the role and in an earlier interview director Zack Snyder has already made it clear that is the direction he intends on heading.

“As I have already explained, the film will focus on early days of Superman, so there will be no links with other films. This is not a remake then. Similarly, although I still can not talk about the script, I can assure you that this new Superman will not be based on a comic book in particular.”

In a related interview with The Geek Files, director Bryan Singer (Superman Returns) weighed in on Snyder taking the helm:

"At the time I left, it would be more odd than it is now. Because it's been four years, my brain is so occupied. I'm sort of like a tennis ball - I bounced from the X-Men to Superman and back to X-Men so I've been in that world a while, and then I'm doing this other film (Jack the Giant Killer) at Warners, which is where I did Superman Returns, so I'm with the same people. So now it (the new Superman film) makes sense. It's a movie I would want to see, I think Zack's so talented and I applaud Warner and Legendary for choosing somebody who's a filmmaker and not necessarily just a shooter. It's Superman, it's gonna be made over and over in one form or another, and I'm sure Zack won't be the last person to touch it either, so in a way it's not in my mind any more. It would have been two and a half years ago."