As the first reactions to The Flash pour in, it will kickstart the beginning of the marketing blitz for the anticipated summer film. Among the many stories this movie has produced, one element that was a surprise was how the multiverse/time-traveling movie will also involve the return of Michael Shannon as General Zod. Shannon’s Zod was one of the characters introduced in the movie that started the DCEU, 2013’s Man of Steel, which was helmed by Zack Snyder.
Flash forward (no pun intended) to now and the state of the DC film universe had gone through massive changes since. However, they have tried to hold on to some semblance of continuity in the Zack Snyder-verse despite the differing approaches to the various characters from the brand. CBR is reporting that Shannon had asked Snyder for his blessing to return as Zod before accepting the role in The Flash.
Shannon reportedly “wasn’t really happy about what happened to Zack Snyder in that whole deal.” He was apprehensive on taking the opportunity and told Flash‘s director, Andy Muschietti, that he had “to get Zack’s blessing on this because it just doesn’t feel right without that.” Shannon was pleased to say, “Zack, to his credit, was very understanding. He gave me his blessing, and I went to do it.”
Shannon would add that his experience of filming this new story was more disjointed when compared to Man of Steel. He explains, “The story is a lot more all over the place, you know? And I feel like I mainly exist in The Flash as, like, an obstacle or a problem. Whereas, in Man of Steel, it was more of a story.”
The buzz and reactions to the film, despite the cloud of controversy that hovers above it due to its star, have been very positive. This includes stories like Tom Cruise loving it at a sneak peek screening. One of the reasons that has been given as an explanation for the under-performance of the recent Shazam sequel is that the rest of this universe incarnation seems futile since it will all be rebooted under James Gunn and Peter Safran’s regime. The Flash, on the other hand, has had the strength of being based on a popular story from the comics and features an extended role of the classic Batman, Michael Keaton.
The Flash runs into theaters on June 16.