Ten years afterMichael Shannonplayed Zod in Zack Snyder’sMan of Steel, the actor will reprise the role as a variant of the supervillain inThe Flash. Ahead of the premiere, Shannon reminisced about his debut as Zod back in 2013. Speaking about the role in a new interview withVanity Fair, the actor shared what he loved about the film, feeling that the story added more depth to the Zod character by giving him different motivations. As Shannon recalls:
“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, it was about a civilization that ruins their own planet - I’ve never heard of that before - and the solution to that is to go to another planet and take it and then we’ll just go live there. And I thought, ‘Yeah. This story’s important.'”
In theSupermanfilm that was released by director Richard Donner in 1978, Terence Stamp played General Zod opposite Christopher Reeve as the Man of Steel. Shannon says he’s a big fan of Stamp and his performance as Zod in that movie, and that made his own casting as the supervillain that much more exciting. With that said, Shannon also appreciates how his version of Zod was a very different take on the character.
“It was a totally different take on Zod. Terence Stamp was just mean. He was just being mean to everybody. And [my] Zod was like, ‘Look, my job is to protect my civilization.’ That speech that he has, ‘And now I have no people.’ I thought that was beautiful and heartbreaking. But, I also just like Zack so much. I really, really like Zack Snyder a lot.”
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Michael Shannon Returns as Zod
Shannon’s Zod did not surviveMan of Steel, but thanks to DC’s multiverse, a variant of the character is one of many threats that will be faced by the heroes inThe Flash. He is joined by Antje Traue who also reprises her role as Faora, Zod’s second-in-command. As Shannon still has so much appreciation for Snyder and the director casting him inMan of Steel, the actor did not agree to appear inThe Flashuntilafter he had garnered Snyder’s blessing. As Shannon said on theBingeworthypodcast:
“I talked to Andy [Muschietti] about it, and I liked Andy, 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. I loved Andy, too. I loved working with Andy. They’re both super creative guys.”
We are getting close to the long-awaited release ofThe Flash. The feature film is finally set to hit movie theaters with its premiere on August 11, 2025. You can watch the trailer below.
