Henry Cavill’s Man Of Steel had some very controversial scenes and storylines. One of them was Michael Shannon’s portrayal of the famous villain General Zod. Many criticized Zack Snyder’s depiction and the overall storyline, citing it as uncharacteristic of the original Superman.
However, Michael Shannon stood his ground, defending Zack Snyder’s characterization of General Zod. He also mentioned he chose to do the movie because it seemed culturally significant.
Michael Shannon Defends Zack Snyder
Zack Snyder’s General Zod was less dark, and less mean than the original General Zod. Having set his life ambition on saving his planet, he was by no chance less evil. However, compared to Terence Stamp‘s Zod, Snyder’s Zod was more driven to save his people instead of destroying everything.
Michael Shannon spoke about his role in Man Of Steel, also starring Henry Cavill, and defended the movie as being ‘culturally significant’.
“I would argue that ‘Man of Steel’ is, in a way, this significant story, like, culturally, not just an entertainment thing. Because at the end of the day, what it was about, it was about a civilization, right, that ruins their own planet. I’ve never heard of that before. And then decides, ’Well, the solution to that is to go to another planet and take it, and then we’ll just go live there.’”
Referring to the storyline, Shannon expressed he considered this narrative important, with Snyder’s Zod being more nuanced in comparison to Richard Donner‘s.
“And I thought, ‘Yeah, yeah, this story’s important.’ It was a totally different take on Zod. Terence Stamp was just mean, he was just being mean to everybody. And Zod was like, ‘Look, I just, my job is to protect my civilization.’ Like, that speech that he has, ‘And now I have no people.’ Like, I thought that was, like, beautiful and heartbreaking and…”
Adding on, he praised Zack Snyder and that he really liked Snyder a lot.
Michael Shannon’s Future In DCU
Michael Shanon would be next appearing in The Flash in an alternate universe to fight Barry Allen. Being initially puzzled about how his character would play out, he admitted having a lot of fun while on the DC sets for the second time.
While we might see General Zod again, it remains uncertain whether Michael Shannon would be playing the evil Kryptonian or not as James Gunn and Peter Safran are completely rebooting the entire DC Universe.
You can catch Michael Shanon as General Zod, for the last time perhaps, in The Flash releasing on June 16.
Source: Vanity Fair
