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Kneel Before Michael Shannon! Actor to Play Zod in Superman: Man of Steel

Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures announced today that Michael Shannon will star in the role of General Zod in director Zack Snyder’s new Superman film, titled “Man of Steel.”

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By EdGross - 4/10/2011
“Zod is not only one of Superman’s most formidable enemies, but one of the most significant because he has insights into Superman that others don’t. Michael is a powerful actor who can project both the intelligence and the malice of the character, making him perfect for the role," Snyder stated.

As General Zod, Shannon will go toe-to-toe with Henry Cavill, who plays the new Clark Kent/Superman in the film. The main cast also includes Amy Adams as Lois Lane, and Diane Lane and Kevin Costner as Martha and Jonathan Kent.

Michael Shannon was honored with an Academy Award® nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Sam Mendes’ “Revolutionary Road,” with Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. Shannon was most recently seen in the award-winning HBO drama series “Boardwalk Empire,” from executive producer Martin Scorsese. He will next be seen in Sony Pictures Classics', "Take Shelter," from director/writer Jeff Nichols.

Charles Roven, Emma Thomas, Christopher Nolan and Deborah Snyder are the producers of the film. The screenplay is being written by David S. Goyer based on a story by Goyer and Nolan. Thomas Tull and Lloyd Phillips are serving as executive producers.

“Man of Steel” will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.
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comic2004 - 4/10/2011, 1:07 PM
Very interesting...
Ryden - 4/10/2011, 1:07 PM
Oh interesting, I was really hoping to see Shannon play Lex and to have Brainiac as the main villain. But Zod is cool. He'll do a good job.
tford14 - 4/10/2011, 1:07 PM
Zod...
Afterman - 4/10/2011, 1:07 PM
Exellent Choice!
Kneel young Kal-El!
Dumegg - 4/10/2011, 1:08 PM
first Zod is in the film. then he's out. now he's
back in. Hey Snyder, make up your frickin' mind!
shane2188 - 4/10/2011, 1:08 PM
hope he does better than he did in 8 mile
EdGross - 4/10/2011, 1:09 PM
A friend of mine pointed out that the choice of Zod for this first movie is a good one, because it allows the series to build up in the second film to something much bigger, like Doomsday or (preferably) Darkseid. Kind of the same way that Batman Begins led into the far bigger in scope Dark Knight.
spidey1994 - 4/10/2011, 1:09 PM
Zod again?!?! I wanna see other villains like Brainiac or Bizzaro or Darkseid!
PaulRom - 4/10/2011, 1:09 PM
IMO, he looks better suited for Bizarro or even Lex. NEVER saw him as Zod...oh well. Maybe he'll be good.
soaponapope - 4/10/2011, 1:10 PM
aah.. i was hoping for brainiac/luthor.
HellsHammer - 4/10/2011, 1:12 PM
cant wait. I love how people say "Zod again?" lol that was in the 70s! And this is a new franchise, he was bound to be in one of them. Get over it!
comic2004 - 4/10/2011, 1:14 PM
@EdGross Ture that He does need to fight someone that will test all his powers,strength,mind to beat.Shaping up to be a good one.
RockNRollCC - 4/10/2011, 1:15 PM
very interesting...
Shasvre - 4/10/2011, 1:15 PM
I must admit I'm surprised, but very positive to this. :D
claybo4131 - 4/10/2011, 1:16 PM
I had to go on IMDB to look him up. I have never seen Boardwalk Empire cause I do not watch HBO let alone have it.

I saw that he was in Bad Boys 2, he was that KKK guy that they put in the trunk, the one whose ear was shot off by Will Smith and always kept saying "I have my rights." I also see that he was in 8 Mile, dont remember him in that, and Pearl Harbor (have that movie next time I watch it I will see who he was).

Kind of hard to see him as Zod, Terrance Stamp was memorable, big shoes to fill

I also see that he was in Jonah Hex, but I forgot about that poochscrew of garbage that was that I do not remember him in it LOL
Ranger14 - 4/10/2011, 1:16 PM
Oh joy...Zod and Luthor again.
Hellsing - 4/10/2011, 1:16 PM
hmm I thought shannon would have been a perfect lex but yeah atleast we'll get a god damn fight with Zod involved.
RoscoeFolgers - 4/10/2011, 1:17 PM
@Arminies- Yeah. The fights will be so uninteresting. I mean, a trained general with all the same powers as Superman? They might as well make him fight a retarded kitten.
weaponxcustoms - 4/10/2011, 1:18 PM
odd...not a huge fan of this guy he barely moves his enormous jaw line when he talks, reminds me of Slingblade in most of his films. Hopefully its a good movie
RoscoeFolgers - 4/10/2011, 1:18 PM
@Claybo- He was the Mom's boyfriend in 8 Mile.

@Grif- We know. You hate things.
Sturmpionier - 4/10/2011, 1:21 PM
Didn't I see this movie when it was called Superman II?

Sorry to sound trollish, but part of the avowed problem of SR was that it was too much like the Donner Superman films. So they decide to reboot the series and state that they are creating a new universe and include...

...the villain from Superman II?

I'm not saying it won't be cool, I just have always pictured Zod as the guy who takes Superman to the next level and not the way to lead off a series.

But, I have no idea what they want to do with the character, so I'll shut up now.

EdGross - 4/10/2011, 1:23 PM
Zod vs. Superman is a lot better than the SIXTH time Superman would go up against Luthor on the big screen (even if they do cast Luthor in this, I would imagine his role would be secondary to Zod's).
schfuture - 4/10/2011, 1:23 PM
Disappointment :/
claybo4131 - 4/10/2011, 1:26 PM
Yeah I was hoping for another villain besides Luthor or even Zod, I was hoping Braniac or Darkseid or Bizarro myself.

@weaponxcustoms Now that you mentioned it you are right, he does barely movie his jawline when he speaks and sounds like Billy Bob from Sling Blade
soberchimera - 4/10/2011, 1:26 PM
Zod's a joke
BlackSands - 4/10/2011, 1:26 PM
Illustration



oh yeah.... the jokes are coming in now.....

Oh well, it was good while it lasted... and here I was thinking that they'd expand more of his movie rogues gallery.... Supes has got a TON of enemies in his long career to choose from and all we get to see are the "main" ones that keep getting rehashed. While I am a little put off by this, I'm still probably going to watch it to see how it turns out.
BlackSands - 4/10/2011, 1:27 PM
mgeoff88 - 4/10/2011, 1:28 PM
Wow! I'm kind of surprised; after Zack Snyder said no Zod, I thought he was pretty much out as a villain.

Michael Shannon is an interesting choice. I just hope Zod isn't the only major villain.
Illuminatus - 4/10/2011, 1:29 PM
You guys do realize that if Ledger had not died, Michael Shannon would've won the Academy Award that year, instead of Ledger. Even if you are disappointed in the villain chosen to be in the movie, or whatever other reason you have to NOT support this movie, please do not rip on Michael Shannon. That guy can act your faces off without even trying. He is one of the very few actors today that could compete with Brando, Peck, O'Toole, and Day-Lewis.
CaptainOtter - 4/10/2011, 1:30 PM
I'm cool with Zod. It works for me. But I don't know about Michael Shannon. He's just always been "that guy" in the background, who usually looks kinda creepy but not in the good way.
Dumegg - 4/10/2011, 1:31 PM
it would have been nice to see some new superman
villians. he DOES have more than just Lex and Zod.
InfiniteMonkey - 4/10/2011, 1:31 PM
Zod Again? Terrific, I guess the next news is Richard Pryor's character will be coming back as well since this is going to be another rehash of characters. Rubbish.

Hollywood and its writers need a paradigm shift so that they don't keep rehashing the same characters that have been on screen before. Superman's universe offers a plethora of most interesting and devastating villains. Why can't they just tap into that richness? Pity....
AlexDeLarge87 - 4/10/2011, 1:32 PM
He would have been much better Lex!:/


thegreek - 4/10/2011, 1:33 PM
I am still sad .... :(
claybo4131 - 4/10/2011, 1:35 PM
@illuminatus You are comparing him to Marlon Brando, Peter O'Toole, Gregory Peck AND Daniel Day-Lewis????? Wow those guys are all Oscar winners (O'Toole won a Lifetime Achievement Oscar) and are legends in their own case.

Comparing a guy to those acting icons when I had to IMDB him says something at least.

Heath Ledger would have won the Oscar even if he did not die.
FlappyJax - 4/10/2011, 1:35 PM
I agree @AlexDeLarge87. Oh well. He's a good actor and Zod is a good choice for the villain in the first movie. Perhaps he'll be good.
Durango95 - 4/10/2011, 1:35 PM
jeez at least give it a chance. i gave superman returns a chance....all ten minutes of it. snyders not making a "love letter" to donner so it might be good.
BlackSands - 4/10/2011, 1:36 PM
@frogsplash46 if that is the case, they're also rehashing Superman 1 then in some parts of the new reboot -- we already learned what happened to Superman Returns if they rehash something from the first two superman films when Singer took the helm and tried to emulate Donner. A part of me agrees with the choice though as you DO need to start a movie somewhere where we can all find common ground, but the other half wants to see something new that have never been dealt with from the former film's standpoint.
Anthrax - 4/10/2011, 1:36 PM
Aw WTF why not metallI'o I'm starting to lose faith
Dynamo - 4/10/2011, 1:36 PM
At least he's kicking some ass this time.
Technoman - 4/10/2011, 1:37 PM
@ Arminies: What?

Separately, while I would have liked to see some other villains, this still looks good.
DarthTesla - 4/10/2011, 1:37 PM
This is great news. Great choice for the coolest Supes villain of all.
Peteyparker - 4/10/2011, 1:37 PM
................so i guess metallo, darksied, brainiac, and doomsday can go F*CK themselves!? I hate hollywood.......
Mercurius - 4/10/2011, 1:38 PM
He was good in 'The Runaways'. I also like how he has the punk rockstar, douche kind of look.
revloveR - 4/10/2011, 1:42 PM
LAME.
nordberg - 4/10/2011, 1:43 PM
Shannon is the balls. Mark my words; whatever this film ends up being, he's going to make for one awesome villain.

Watch Boardwalk Empire if you have any doubts. The dude is f'ing scary.
WorldsGreatestdetective - 4/10/2011, 1:43 PM
Bad ass cast, I swear. Even though Zach Snyder sucks, this cast will lift the movie
SUPERMAN2013 - 4/10/2011, 1:43 PM
FAIL
PaulRom - 4/10/2011, 1:44 PM
Whoa grif...I'm not wild about this choice either, but that's kinda far IMO.
And I hope Zod and Lex are secondary villains. Brainiac FTW.
InTylerWeTrust - 4/10/2011, 1:44 PM
"Comparing a guy to those acting icons when I had to IMDB him says something at least."

It doesn't say anything.
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