Michael Shannon Asked Zack Snyder For His Blessing Before Returning As Zod In The Flash

Michael Shannon asked former DC director Zack Snyder for his blessing before returning as General Zod in The Flash. Snyder was the one responsible for casting Shannon as Zod in the first place, with the actor giving life to the Kryptonian villain in Snyder’s Man of Steel. Shannon returns as Zod in this June’s The Flash, as a multiverse version of the Superman villain. Before signing on to join The Flash‘s cast as Zod, Shannon had to make sure that Snyder was okay with that happening.

Speaking with The Playlist, Shannon revealed that he was initially hesitant and had to get Snyder’s blessing to return as Zod in The Flash, as the actor was not fond of the way Snyder was treated by DC. According to Shannon, Snyder was very understanding of the actor’s situation and gave him his blessing, with Shannon then signing on to return as Zod in The Flash. The actor also commented on how he loved working with The Flash‘s director Andy Muschietti. Check out the full quote below:

“I was hesitant [to come back] because I wasn’t really happy about what happened to Zack Snyder in that whole deal, and I really love Zack. The fact that Zack asked me to play that part to begin with – that’s probably the biggest surprise of my career. It almost felt like a practical joke. I was like, ‘You’re kidding me, right?’ But 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. Andy’s an amazing artist. He would just make these drawings when I was sitting there talking to him. I’d look over and say, ‘Hey, can I keep that?’ and he’d go, ‘Sure!’ and sign it and give it to me.”

Everything We Know About General Zod’s Role In The Flash

The Flash‘s story sees Ezra Miller’s Barry Allen travel back in time to stop his mother from being murdered. Barry succeeds in doing so, but his actions have dire consequences for his universe. The Flash creates a new reality where there are no metahumans on Earth. Enter Shannon as General Zod, who attempts to terraform the planet on a multiverse version of his story in Snyder’s Man of Steel. However, Henry Cavill’s Superman is not around to stop the villain this time.

Shannon’s Zod and his plan to take over Earth and transform it into a new Krypton is what sets Miller’s Barry Allen on a path to find other DC heroes. While trying to find Ben Affleck’s Batman, The Flash will come face-to-face with Michael Keaton’s Bruce Wayne. After The Flash convinces Keaton’s Batman to join him, the duo will embark on a search for a Kryptonian being held captive on Earth, the one who could help stop Zod. To Barry’s surprise, the Kryptonian turns out to be Kara, aka Supergirl, rather than Cavill’s Superman.

The Flash‘s trailers have set up an epic confrontation between Shannon’s Zod and Sasha Calle’s Supergirl in the movie. However, it doesn’t appear that Zod will actually be The Flash‘s main villain. Shannon previously spoke on Zod’s The Flash return, revealing that he was only part of the production for two weeks. The actor also said, “you don’t spend as much time with him,” which means Zod’s role in The Flash likely doesn’t span the whole film.

Source: The Playlist