Had it been, say, the British Press reporting this I mightn’t have bothered wasting good finger sweat on typing, but this is coming from someone at the reputable stateside outlet, Hero Complex, a subsidiary of The Los Angeles Times, so there could be something to it.

We’ve all heard that “True Blood” star Joe Manganiello wants to play Superman, right? Heck, the man is one-man PR machine when it comes to stumping his ability to play Krypton’s Last Son – give him five minutes and a microphone and he’ll open up like a split bicycle tube. But did anyone actually suspect there to be anything other than self-promotion and hands being raised in the air here? I know I didn’t.
But whaddayaknow? Maybe Manganiello – who played ‘Flash Thompson’ in Sam Raimi’s “Spider-Man” – is in with a chance to star in Zack Snyder’s “Man of Steel”.

Here’s the Tweet from Hero Complex this morning :

Is “True Blood” werewolf star Joe Manganiello a frontrunner to play Superman? That’s the rumor du jour in Hollywood #superman

Okay, so Hero Complex could’ve just as likely heard the same stuff we have – coming from Manganiello or his supporters (there’s a Facebook page dedicating to getting the man the role of Superman) – but this is an outlet that’s more about scoops and first-hand news, than running other’s sloppy seconds, so there’s a good possibility Manganiello has impressed Snyder and the brass at the WB.

What do I think? Yeah, he could work.

What about some of these other rumoured contenders? Armie Hammer (“The Social Network”)? Scott Porter (“Friday Night Lights”)? model Anderson Davis? Martial-Artist Scott Adkins (“Undisputed 2″)? Wonder if they’ve made any kind of impression.