Credit: (L) Lucasfilm (R) DC / Warner Bros.Someone really doesn’t like Star Wars…
The Flash (2023) sees Michael Shannon reprise his role as General Zod, having previously played him in Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel (2013) and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), but it turns out that the 48-year-old actor isn’t a fan of blockbusters at all.
In a recent interview with Empire magazine’s print edition, when asked why he turned down a role in Star Wars, The Shape of Water (2017) star shared his thoughts on big blockbuster movies, saying that he doesn’t “want to perpetuate” what he feels is “mindless entertainment.”
“I’m always a bit wary about those giant movies,” Shannon admitted. “Because they take a lot of time, and I don’t find them very stimulating to work on. I don’t ever want to get stuck in a franchise. I don’t find them interesting and I don’t want to perpetuate them. If I’m making something, I want there to be some kind of purpose to it — I don’t want to make mindless entertainment.”
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Shannon may have played General Zod — a character who feels he must destroy humanity so that his own people, the Kryptonians, can live on — in two major studio blockbusters now, but he explained that it’s “actually a very relevant story”, and that he “didn’t look at Zod as a villain”, viewing him “as a guy whose job is to protect his people.”
In The Flash, Zod’s motivations, as previously seen in Man of Steel, are the same, so it’s clear that Shannon has formed a connection with the character. But when he was asked to reprise his role, the actor was admittedly confused, revealing that the filmmakers had to explain to him how the character was able to return after being killed in Man of Steel.
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“It’s actually one of the reasons I made Man of Steel in the first place,” he told Empire, “it was a one-and-done. So I was pretty shocked to hear about this reprisal of the role. But I like the story that The Flash is telling and I wasn’t there for a long amount of time — I was just there a couple of weeks — so it didn’t break my back to do it.”
In another recent interview with Collider, Shannon said that he doesn’t find multiverse movies “satisfying”, however, he also went on to explain that he’d asked Man of Steel director Zack Snyder for his blessing to return as Zod. While the actor isn’t a fan of blockbusters, it’s obvious he has plenty of love for the Superman reboot.
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Man of Steel might be a “big summer blockbuster”, which started the DC Universe, but it’s also an incredibly nuanced and character-driven film that, in parts, feels more like an indie picture, while The Flash is, unapologetically, a big dumb blockbuster flick.
As for Star Wars, while Shannon would have made a perfect Sith Lord, or any type of character from the faraway galaxy for that matter, it sounds like he really isn’t a fan.
“The world doesn’t need more mindless entertainment,” he added. “We’re inundated with it.”
Exactly what role was offered to him, and in what Star Wars project, is unknown. Either way, there’s very little he can do to stop the Star Wars franchise, as there are a number of upcoming projects in development, from open-world games to television shows, and a number of new theatrical films.
When you look at how Star Wars has turned out in recent years, though, he might have a point.
Check out the final trailer for The Flash below:
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As per Wikipedia, here’s the synopsis for the film:
Barry Allen/The Flash travels back in time to prevent his mother’s murder, which traps him in an alternate reality without metahumans. He enlists the help of Batman and the Kryptonian castaway Supergirl from alternate realities in order to save this world from the restored General Zod and return to his universe.
The Flash is now out in theaters.
It stars Ezra Miller (Barry Allen/The Flash), Sasha Calle (Kara Zor-El/Supergirl), Michael Shannon (General Zod), Ron Livingston (Henry Allen), Michael Keaton (Bruce Wayne/Batman), and Ben Affleck (Bruce Wayne/Batman).
Do you agree with Michael Shannon? Do you think Star Wars is “mindless entertainment”, even if you might be a fan? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!