The Flash: Michael Shannon Says He Only Returned as Zod Because of Zack Snyder

Micheal Shannon, the actor who played General Zod in the Man of Steel and who also made a brief appearance in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, revealed that he wanted Zack Synder’s blessing before reprising his role in the upcoming film The Flash.

According to an interview with the Bingeworthy podcast, Shannon said:

“I was hesitant [to come back] because I wasn’t really happy about what happened to Zack Snyder in that whole deal,” Shannon said. “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?'”

Shannon said that he got the approval from Snyder to come back, and he loved working with Andy Muschietti, the director of The Flash. The two had gotten along so well that Muschietti gave Shannon autographed artwork.

“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.” Shannon said.

I was hesitant [to come back] because I wasn’t really happy about what happened to Zack Snyder in that whole deal

Shannon has a longer history with the Snyderverse, appearing in Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. With the Flash set to wrap up version 1.0 of the DCU, Shannon is back for one last hurrah.

In addition to Shannon appearing in The Flash, other DC characters, such as Ben Affleck and Michael Keaton’s Batman, have been confirmed to appear in the movie. The upcoming film is heavily inspired by the 2011 comic book run Flashpoint. In the series, Barry Allen travels back in time to save his mother from dying, but in doing so, he causes major consequences for the world.

For more news on The Flash, check out our story on how the director addresses a possible sequel and how Micheal Keaton felt about seeing the Batcave after 30 years.

Luis Joshua Gutierrez is a freelance writer who loves games. You can reach him at @ImLuisGutierrez on Twitter.