Dave Franco has seen the internet’s pleas for him to play accused UnitedHealthcare CEO assassin Luigi Mangione — and he could be interested.
“No one has approached me about it yet, I’ll say that,” Franco, 40, shared during the Tuesday, August 6, episode of Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen. “This is something that more people in my life reached out about this exact thing than anything else that has ever happened.”
Franco said he’s “open” if the project is right.
Several celebrities, including filmmaker Stephen Robert Morse, have weighed in on the possibility of a film about Mangione, 27. Morse claimed earlier this year that he already had a documentary in the works.
Mangione was arrested in December 2024 in connection with the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. He is currently being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn while awaiting trial.
Mangione is facing four federal charges and 11 state charges, including murder, terrorism and stalking. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges. Federal prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.
Following Mangione’s arrest, social media was flooded with requests that Franco play him when the upcoming trial inevitably gets the Hollywood treatment.
“I have never received more texts in my life about anything,” Franco told The Hollywood Reporter in January. “Anyone who has my phone number has reached out about it.”
Franco’s most recent comment about playing the accused comes after Us Weekly confirmed that Mangione was granted a laptop in jail to prepare for his upcoming trial, which will likely start next year.
U.S. District Judge Margaret M. Garnett ordered the MDC to “provide Mr. Mangione with the laptop prepared by the Government, with access to it seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.” on Monday, August 4.
Mangione’s lawyers — Karen Friedman Agnifilo, Marc Agnifilo and Jacob Kaplan — had previously written a letter asking that he get a computer as a way to “adequately prepare for trial and assist in his own defense.” (The letter was submitted to the judge on Friday, August 1.)
The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office previously objected to the request for Mangione to get a laptop. His lawyers, however, argued that there are upwards of 7 terabytes of case materials that Mangione needs to access.
The laptop will not allow him to access the internet, printers or wireless networks. Mangione is only able to access information related to his case, which will be provided by the government.
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