Michael Shannon has previously revealed that he was “a little confused” when he received the offer to join “The Flash” in a reprisal of his role of of General Zod from “Man of Steel.” Now, the actor has revealed that those complicated feelings weren’t exactly resolved while making the new DC film.
In a new interview with Collider, Shannon got honest about the multiverse-traversing premise of “The Flash” and his own dissatisfaction with Zod’s arc in the film.
“I’m not going to lie — it wasn’t quite satisfying for me, as an actor. These multiverse movies are like somebody playing with action figures,” Shannon said. “It’s like, ‘Here’s this person. Here’s that person. And they’re fighting!’ It’s not quite the in-depth character study situation that I honestly felt ‘Man of Steel’ was.”
Shannon shared that he felt that “The Flash” was “all about Ezra [Miller].” Zod was “basically there to present a challenge” to the film’s star.
“I just think Ezra is a fascinating performer and actor. I can’t wait to see this performance,” said Shannon. “It’s a huge challenge. I don’t want to give anything away, but what Ezra has to do in this movie is pretty crazy. I think [they’re] up for the task.”
After Shannon’s initial confusion about being offered to join “The Flash” — after all, his character’s neck is snapped by Superman in “Man of Steel” — the actor made it a priority to get Zack Snyder’s blessing to return to play Zod. Snyder directed Shannon in “Man of Steel” which kicked off his own DC Universe.
“I was hesitant [to come back] because I wasn’t really happy about what happened to Zack Snyder in that whole deal,” said Shannon. “I talked to [‘The Flash’ director] Andy Muschietti about it, and I said, ‘Andy, look — I just want to get Zack’s blessing on this because it just doesn’t feel right without that.’ And Zack, to his credit, was very understanding. He gave me his blessing, and I went to do it.”
“The Flash” debuts in theaters on Friday.
