‘Nice to revisit the character’: Michael Shannon open up about General Zod’s return in ‘The Flash’

Michael Shannon's General Zod who was defeated by Henry Cavill's Superman in 'Man of Steel', will make a comeback in the upcoming 'The Flash' movie
PUBLISHED MAR 9, 2023
Michael Shannon as General Zod in the upcoming movie, 'The Flash' (Joe Maher/Getty Images for Paramount+)
Michael Shannon as General Zod in the upcoming movie, 'The Flash' (Joe Maher/Getty Images for Paramount+)

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: If you thought that Michale Keaton's Batman is the only one returning to the DC universe, you're wrong. There is another iconic villain who we first saw getting his neck snapped by Superman in 'Man of Steel'. Yes, Michael Shannon's General Zod will be making a comeback in the upcoming 'Flash' movie. The film's first teaser was released during the Superbowl, in which we can see Barry Allen (Ezra Miller) going back in time to save his mother, Nora. When trying to save his mother, Barry creates another Flashpoint timeline with no metahumans, which then left the alternate universe vulnerable to an invasion from the Kryptonian supervillains General Zod (Michael Shannon) and Sub-commander Faora-Ul (Antje Traue). 

'The Flash' stars Ezra Miller, Sasha Calle, Michael Shannon, Ron Livingston, Maribel Verdú, Kiersey Clemons, Antje Traue, Ben Affleck, and Michael Keaton in the lead. 

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'Are they sure they got the right guy?'

It is quite exhilarating how the connections in the multiverse storylines are bringing back characters that were far gone but exist in some other reality. That's what happened to Michael Shannon's General Zod, who was defeated by Henry Cavill's Superman in 'Man of Steel', but is now making a comeback in the upcoming 'The Flash' movie. In a recent interview, Shannon shared his thoughts on the idea of his character coming back. He stated that he was a little surprised when director Andy Muschietti contacted him to bring back Zod for 'The Flash'. Meanwhile, the 'Take Shelter' star has also disclosed that he isn't a comic book guy and when Muschietti tried making him understand the workings of the DC multiverse, Shannon was a little stumped. 

"I was a little confused. I said,  As memory serves me, I think I died in 'Man of Steel.' Are they sure they got the right guy? But then they explained to me the whole multiverse phenomenon, which ... I was a little behind the times on that. I can't say that I'm a huge consumer of this genre of films — not that I have anything against them. If I'm going to watch a movie, the odds are it's not going to be one of those, but I sure love making them." according to Looper.

'I was in and out in a couple of weeks'

When talking about his role as General Zod in 'The Flash', Shannon shared that although the villainous character is back, a big part of the movie is revolving around the story of Barry, and that Zod doesn't have much screen time, instead, he was in and out in a couple of weeks, "I loved making "Man of Steel," and I love working with [director] Zack [Snyder], and I felt like it was actually, in a way, a fairly important film. It was nice to revisit the character. I wasn't there for a terribly long time. I was in and out in a couple of weeks, so it was a nice way to spend a bit of my summer in England. Andy's a lovely guy and a great artist, visually, and I had a blast." 

'The Flash' will reach the theatres at supersonic speed on June 16.

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