Joe Manganiello Boards Zombie Thriller Based On Fan-Favorite Book Series

Joe Manganiello’s Mountain Man is adapted from the book series of the same name by Keith C. Blackmore. The novels follow a man named Gus who lives in a zombie-filled post-apocalypse. Though Gus struggles with alcoholism and suicidal thoughts due to his crushing loneliness in the post-apacolyse, he meets another survivor who may pose a different kind of threat.

Joe Manganiello’s Mountain Man film will be directed by John Lee with Matt Deller penning the script. Nick Manganiello and Danny Chan are also on board to produce the project. Presumably, the film will be covering the events of the first book of the series. The book series has seven novels along with a prequel and some short stories, so there is definitely franchise potential for this project if the first film can find success.

Mountain Man won’t be the first project that Joe Manganiello and director John Lee have worked on together, as the two previously collaborated on Netflix’s Pee-Wee’s Big Holiday. Lee is also known for directing the horror film False Positive. Lee has also directed numerous episodes of TV from shows like Broad City and Search Party. 

Joe Manganiello also has a few other projects on his plate in addition to Mountain Man. One of which is the upcoming Vince Vaughn vehicle Nonnas, which stars Vaughn as a man who, inspired by the passion for cooking of his late Italian mother,  decides to open a restaurant where all the chefs are grandmothers. Along with Vaughn and Manganiello, the film also stars Linda Cardellini, Susan Sarandon, Lorraine Bracco, Talia Shire, Brenda Vaccaro, Drea De Matteo, Michael Rispoli, and Campbell Scott.

Nonnas wrapped filming last year, so we’ll hopefully hear more about this Joe Manganiello project sooner rather than later. In the meantime, we’ll likely hear more about Mountain Man as the film starts production. It’s definitely good to see Manganiello get a piece of the zombie action after his previous zombie project got canceled.

Joe Manganiello was previously attached as one of the voice talents for Zack Snyder’s animated Army of the Dead: Lost Vegas series, but that series ended up getting canceled. This wouldn’t be the first time that Manganiello’s collaborations with Snyder didn’t end up panning out, as the actor previously appeared briefly as Deathstroke in Snyder’s now-defunct DCEU. Manganiello barely got a cameo as Deathstroke, so we didn’t really get to see him have a chance at that character.

Perhaps Mountain Man could be a big franchise that finds both critical and commercial success for Joe Manganiello like his previous roles in True Blood and the Magic Mike films. For now, we’ll just have to wait and find out. Stay tuned and we’ll keep you updated on this project and other zombie-related media.

Source: Deadline