The Official Michael Shannon IS General Zod - Part 3

[Rowsdower!]

Interesting... well, I guess that quashes the rumor that Krypton doesn't blow up in this movie.

[herolee10]

[747]

He looks Zodly!

[G.Godfrey]

Zod is not a very nice host.

[herolee10]

IF Kryptonite or Red Sun Radiation isn't involved in this film, then Superman must take one hell of a beating if he's coughing up blood.

[godisawesome]

Originally Posted by herolee10

"Michael Shannon: No. I got my fill of General Zod. Maybe the whole movie will be playful or comical, but when I was doing it, it was very serious: My planet's destroyed, what am I gonna ****ing do?"

Anybody else got the feeling Zod will probably display less contempt or disdain for us puny earthlings and instead treat us mostly with indifference? Most of us, especially if we watched Smallville, are used to the idea of Zod having a very Khan-like megalomania: Mwahahaha! I shall rule these puny earthlings as a god!!

But Shannon talking about Zod being faced with the death of his planet and having a very human reaction, coupled with his reading of General Grant for some character ideas, leads me to believe that Zod may lack any direct malicious intent for humanity and simply have a plan to either turn Earth into a memorial for Krypton or somehow ressurrect his species and culture over our ashen remains.

It would do a nice job of making him radically different from most comic-bad-guys. We're used to thinking of bad-guys as being very hate-filled. What if we just get a guy who was a worthy opponent to Jor-El and simply doesn't care about us? He may treat Superman like another person and even give him respect, but he probably thinks of us as simple impediments to his goals and thus doesn't even deign us with his attention.

Grant was kind of quietly scary like that: Sherman was bombastic and clearly dangerous, Grant just kept his mouth shut and did his job.

[I SEE SPIDEY]

Originally Posted by godisawesome

"Michael Shannon: No. I got my fill of General Zod. Maybe the whole movie will be playful or comical, but when I was doing it, it was very serious: My planet's destroyed, what am I gonna ****ing do?"

Anybody else got the feeling Zod will probably display less contempt or disdain for us puny earthlings and instead treat us mostly with indifference? Most of us, especially if we watched Smallville, are used to the idea of Zod having a very Khan-like megalomania: Mwahahaha! I shall rule these puny earthlings as a god!!

But Shannon talking about Zod being faced with the death of his planet and having a very human reaction, coupled with his reading of General Grant for some character ideas, leads me to believe that Zod may lack any direct malicious intent for humanity and simply have a plan to either turn Earth into a memorial for Krypton or somehow ressurrect his species and culture over our ashen remains.

It would do a nice job of making him radically different from most comic-bad-guys. We're used to thinking of bad-guys as being very hate-filled. What if we just get a guy who was a worthy opponent to Jor-El and simply doesn't care about us? He may treat Superman like another person and even give him respect, but he probably thinks of us as simple impediments to his goals and thus doesn't even deign us with his attention.

Grant was kind of quietly scary like that: Sherman was bombastic and clearly dangerous, Grant just kept his mouth shut and did his job.

That sounds awesome, I would love for him to be handled like that.

[Lone]

Originally Posted by godisawesome

It would do a nice job of making him radically different from most comic-bad-guys. We're used to thinking of bad-guys as being very hate-filled. What if we just get a guy who was a worthy opponent to Jor-El and simply doesn't care about us? He may treat Superman like another person and even give him respect, but he probably thinks of us as simple impediments to his goals and thus doesn't even deign us with his attention.

Kinda like Ra's Al Ghul in Begins?

[Rocanrol]

Game, Set and Match.

[Rowsdower!]

Like a boss.

[TheAQU4M4N]

Originally Posted by herolee10

Is that his armor that he was mo capped for?

[sup101]

Originally Posted by TheAQU4M4N

Is that his armor that he was mo capped for?

I been asking the same thing and nobody seem to know.It don't look cgi.

[dark_b]

i dont think this is the cgi suit.

in the shot where superman and zod fly to fight you can see how small Zod's head is compared to the body. so the cgi body armor is very very very big.

[flickchick85]

I agree that Zod will probably not be your typical two-dimensional megalomaniac portrayal. From what Shannon's been saying, I see it being handled one of two ways. The first being like godisawesome suggested, and have him just being completely indifferent to humanity as he tries to get his affairs in order here on our planet. That's definitely one way it could go, and I'd like that.

The other way I could see it going, would be that he and his tiny band of minions go straight into survival mode - that is, they believe they are literally the last of their kind and have landed on a primitive, seemingly hostile world, so they show no mercy for the sake of their own survival. They want to make a new home for themselves but discover one of their own is already here and has "defected" to the other side, so they react accordingly, as hardened warriors who have nothing left to lose would.

[herolee10]

Originally Posted by flickchick85

I agree that Zod will probably not be your typical two-dimensional megalomaniac portrayal. From what Shannon's been saying, I see it being handled one of two ways. The first being like godisawesome suggested, and have him just being completely indifferent to humanity as he tries to get his affairs in order here on our planet. That's definitely one way it could go, and I'd like that.

The other way I could see it going, would be that he and his tiny band of minions go straight into survival mode - that is, they believe they are literally the last of their kind and have landed on a primitive, seemingly hostile world, so they show no mercy for the sake of their own survival. They want to make a new home for themselves but discover one of their own is already here and has "defected" to the other side, so they react accordingly, as hardened warriors who have nothing left to lose would.

Indeed; though at the same time, based on new reports, he and Jor-el had their differences to the point where a fight scene took place between them on Krypton so Zod was no saint on Krypton during its prime that's for sure.

[Batman4ever]

I was very happy with the pick of Shannon for Zod. Christopher Nolan & his crew has a nack for bringing an actor who people may disregard and making them strong characters in his films.

[flickchick85]

Originally Posted by herolee10

Indeed; though at the same time, based on new reports, he and Jor-el had their differences to the point where a fight scene took place between them on Krypton so Zod was no saint on Krypton during its prime that's for sure.

Well sure; Zod's a military leader, Jor-El's a scientist. It's a classic conflict, and I'm sure Zod was never exactly a peach, lol. But I'm also confident his motivations here will be more complex than just wanting to kill Jor-El's son or wanting a planet to rule. I mean, look at Battlestar Galactica (the re-imagining). Once their race was all but destroyed, the military faction of that ragtag bunch of remaining humans went straight into Hostile Mode toward anyone they encountered for pretty much the rest of the series. They became rather ruthless in the name of survival almost instantaneously. I could easily see a guy like Zod taking that kind of route as a leader (but to a much more extreme level since I'd imagine Zod was fairly ruthless to begin with).

[Lone]

I wonder if Zod and Faora are written like Bar-El and Lilo-El from All-Star Superman.

You have to admit though, discovering another Kryptonian survivor even if it happens to be the son of a man you hated, it would be more realistic for Zod not to just straight up want to murder him. Being a species close to extinction, any survivors would probably be treated as family by default IMO.

[flickchick85]

Originally Posted by Lone

You have to admit though, discovering another Kryptonian survivor even if it happens to be the son of a man you hated, it would be more realistic for Zod not to just straight up want to murder him. Being a species close to extinction, any survivors would probably be treated as family by default IMO.

I agree, so I think Zod might initially try to embrace Kal-El and bring him into the fold...until he realizes he's "gone native."

[*Whiplash*]

Is it just me or does it look like Zod's armour moves?

[AnneFan]

Originally Posted by flickchick85

I agree, so I think Zod might initially try to embrace Kal-El and bring him into the fold...until he realizes he's "gone native."

That's the way I'm thinking too. Zod trying to get another Kryptonian on his side to rule the place wouldn't hurt at all. They're a rare commodity. But if he can't be turned, it's war.

[JAK®]

Originally Posted by Batman4ever

I was very happy with the pick of Shannon for Zod. Christopher Nolan & his crew has a nack for bringing an actor who people may disregard and making them strong characters in his films.

People weren't really disregarding Shannon as an actor though. He was the fan favourite to play a villain role for months before he was cast. In fact I wanted him to play Lex Luthor. He was getting a lot of attention for his role in Boardwalk Empire at the time.

This isn't a Heath Ledger situation, who was on absolutely no-one's radar.

[Smallville13]

God that's so intense. Shannon is riveting on Boardwalk Empire. He will kill this.

[protocida]

Is that Earth in the background in Zod's shot?

[godisawesome]

Originally Posted by protocida

Is that Earth in the background in Zod's shot?

Looks like it. Orbital fist-fight, here we come!