The Official Michael Shannon IS General Zod - Part 1

[Frodo]

OMG, Shannon is Zod! I thought he would make a great Lex but He'll be a kick ass Zod!

 

[Dark Knight]

For those unfamiliar with Shannon's work here's a clip from Revolutionary Road which gives some great insight into his brilliant acting.

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Brilliant!

Here is hoping they can still snag Viggo for Jor El maybe.

 

[DorkyFresh]

damn Robin...that actually sounds like a good idea for dealing with the last moments of Krypton. you should become a writer or something!!!

 

[Robin91939]

damn Robin...that actually sounds like a good idea for dealing with the last moments of Krypton. you should become a writer or something!!!

Haha, you sly son of a gun...

I am actually working on a spec for a Superman flick--It's a 3 film story- includes some of these ideas--might just eventually post it as a fan script though. Just something I go to when I get writer's block on other things and kick it around....

I enjoy writing Lex, lol.


-R

 

[Dark Knight]

I think it would add a great level of irony to have the only thing that can kill Superman and his eventual greatest challenge to have been created by his own father.

Also, I'd rather Jor-El send Kal-El off not in an attempt to simply save his son, but rather as a contingency plan to eventually fight the forces that caused the demise of the planet Krypton (Zod and Brainiac). There could be a plan to have sent more, but Kal-El was the only one that made it safely....

I always found the idea of Jor-El being the ONLY one to save his son out of an ENTIRE planet a bit implausible. I'd also like Krypton to feel more like an entire planet than a single city. If Jor-El somehow had a small following who believed him that the planet was doomed and they all sent their children to colonize earth and eventually repopulate and save their race it would be a neat twist....think of the escape scene- seeing each pod taken out by heat, flame and meteorites as Kal-El is truly the only survivor! Great opening sequence right there.-R

Great ideas and I think something like may occur in this film. Zod and Braniac were the main cause of Kryptons destruction. Interesting.

 

[Dark Knight]

This makes three of four castings that Snyder and company have nailed. Well done. I approve of Shannon's casting and think he is appropriate in both ability and looks to play a convincing General Zod. He'll do a superb job setting up the Kryptonian mythology and setting the stage for more villains to come. However, Zod being in the film is pretty much says that you can't believe anything out of Snyder's mouth until the casting/plot details are announced by the WB. I now believe Ursa is the female lead of the story, or at least will share the lead role with Martha Kent.

Couldn't disagree more with the sentiment that a Superman film needs to be "grounded in reality". Yes... if this were a Marvel film. But it is not, nor is it Batman. Superman should be larger than life and so should his villains. Kryptonian mythology has been a major stable of the comic, and an utopian Krypton and a desolute Phantom Zone are apart of that. Besides, there is nothing power-wise that Zod possesses which Superman doesn't. It's still Kryptonian powers, only with malicious intent. I also think a part of why Zod was chosen was because he's a foe that Kal doesn't have to hold back while battling. Snyder gets to do his big actions scenes now.

Those that wanted a new villain because Zod's been done before - I understand. I personally was caught off guard with Zod being one of the villains only because he was just used by "Smallville" last year. Didn't think the film franchise would go with Zod right out of the gate like this. It's a risk if it's too similar.

This makes 5 for 5 in castings Snyder has nailed actually IMO....and we are not done yet....

 

[craigdbfan]

I concur.

God I hope dearly that Nolan/Goyer/Snyder are going to give us a Kryptoninan backstory at least half as epic as what Robin posted.

Let me just say that Latino Review has actually been pretty good with the snippets of news in regards to Man of Steel. I remember some time ago they said they were pretty sure about Brainiac's involvement.

Hope that is still the case.

 

[jthom19802]

the only thing that can kill Superman and his eventual greatest challenge

Which is exactly why he shouldn't be the guy for the first one. I know it hasn't been mentioned that much in this thread but it has been mentioned.

You cannot throw Doomsday into an origin story. No way you properly convey the Doomsday story in a half hour. Not only that, an essentially rookie Superman is certainly no match for DD; for that matter, a completely veteran Superman was no match for DD.

If they do eventually tell the story, I cannot see how you can tell it without either A. having a 3 hour movie or B. splitting it a la Harry Potter or Twilight. The fight, the death, the funeral stuff, the quad-return, etc.

If you're going to tell the story, tell it right. I think it'd be perfect if one movie ended with Lois and the death and the second one picked up with the funeral stuff.

Granted, that would be geared much more towards the fans than the general audience and financially that may not be something they think is a good idea.

 

[Dark Knight]

I am pleased with the casting. But, I have a feeling that we haven't heard the last of it...

While Shannon is a great actor- I feel that they are and still will, get a "name" actor for a villain role. Be it for Lex Luthor, Metallo, Brainiac, etc... I think we are definitely going to get a Lex Luthor in this film (my gut tells me it will be Daniel Day Lewis, call it fanboy dreams, I say intuition) and I still think that they are going to have something else in store for us, villainwise. Zod is a huge threat, but I think they may be building a larger Kryptonian mythology/legacy and we may see another villain in this flick...

-R

That's what I think also. Lex and LexCorp will be in this film and possibly Braniac still.

 

[KalMart]

Zod could be the key to unleashing Braniac on Earth....perhaps somehow tying both he and Braniac into Krypton's destruction.

 

[Frontier]

My confidence balloon is deflating quickly now. Nolan serving as a producer more than allayed my fears of Snyder being aboard as Director. After all, the man is capable of producing visually stunning films -- but he's never been a great story-teller. Nolan's involvement equalized things, though.

The casting even began on such a fair note with Henry Cavill.

But then Costner as Pa Kent?
Diane Lane is too young to play Martha.
Amy Adams is too old to play Lois to Cavill's 27.
And then this?

I'm sorry, the fellow may be a terrific actor, but he's totally lacking the Machiavellian dashing villain good looks Zod has always had in comic and film. Christ, this guy got hit by the ugly stick twice too often in truth.

Sigh.

 

[Dark Knight]

Oh man. The more Kryptonian mythology the happier I will get! I love it when Superman packs in the sci-fi outer-spacey stories.

Yep!

 

[Dark Knight]

That's how I'd do it, lol.

Set up the background of the Kryptonian Civil War.

General Zod's forces against the Kryptonian High Council (including Jor-El). Brainiac corrupted in the process, betraying the High Council that created him and teaming with Zod (but still with his own agenda). Maybe in a huge twist, Jor-El and other scientists created a...um..."Doomsday" Weapon to stop Zod and end the war, but were unable to ever use it as Krypton was destroyed. Brainiac disappeared, as did the doomsday weapon, and Zod was in the Phantom Zone.

-R

 

[KRIM]

I think it would add a great level of irony to have the only thing that can kill Superman and his eventual greatest challenge to have been created by his own father.

Also, I'd rather Jor-El send Kal-El off not in an attempt to simply save his son, but rather as a contingency plan to eventually fight the forces that caused the demise of the planet Krypton (Zod and Brainiac). There could be a plan to have sent more, but Kal-El was the only one that made it safely....

I always found the idea of Jor-El being the ONLY one to save his son out of an ENTIRE planet a bit implausible. I'd also like Krypton to feel more like an entire planet than a single city. If Jor-El somehow had a small following who believed him that the planet was doomed and they all sent their children to colonize earth and eventually repopulate and save their race it would be a neat twist....think of the escape scene- seeing each pod taken out by heat, flame and meteorites as Kal-El is truly the only survivor! Great opening sequence right there....

There are plenty of ways to tweak the mythology while still remaining true to the principle ideas, but keeping it fresh so that the audience will be guessing, even with a villain we've seen before- we can and MUST be offered a new take on those mythos to make it seem....exciting.

-R

All truly fantastic points. I commend you for your out-of-the-box thinking. I'd always wondered why such small portions of Krypton were portrayed. Granted it may not have been relevant to Kal-El's story, but it would help to round out an alien civilization rather than focusing on such a small (albeit important and highly populated) subsection of an entire culture and planet.

Also, I wouldn't mind an entire sequence focusing on several escape pods bursting from Krypton (as it explodes) and traveling its way into space while being bombarded with meteorites. It's a fascinating twist on the mythology, full of awe-inspiring visuals, and a cosmic representation of the beauty in life spurned from overwhelming odds. A not so subtle similarity:

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Those last few seconds aside woot, I could definitely see an epic scene featuring Kryptonian pods weaving through the galaxies, with only Kal-El left. It's like an action scene wrapped in tragedy, as you know how it all ends.

 

[DorkyFresh]

Haha, you sly son of a gun...

I am actually working on a spec for a Superman flick--It's a 3 film story- includes some of these ideas--might just eventually post it as a fan script though. Just something I go to when I get writer's block on other things and kick it around....

I enjoy writing Lex, lol.


-R

that's cool. i've always wanted to work on a Superman comic book. maybe you and i should get together and try to get something goin'!

 

[Robin91939]

Pumped that there has been such a liking to my ideas lol. It's all there in the comics, and animated series. All they have to do, is tweak certain things.

Like JMark said, Superman IS larger than life. He can live and exist in the real world- in fact, that's important, but you CANNOT shy away from the fantastic.

He should exist in the real world as in: people should be SHOCKED the first time they see him fly. Non-Superman people should react like you or I would to seeing the amazing/alien stuff that happens. But that amazing/alien stuff HAS to exist in Superman's world. It's magical realism, if it's any kind of realism at all.

And yes, Kryptonian mythology is a MUST for a Superman flick. Since the press release hints that Zod is a threat mostly because he knows Superman's heritage and knows more about him than he himself knows....it looks like a step in the right direction.

I do, however, hope dearly that they do make Brainiac Kryptonian and not from Colu. I think he works better as a sentient computer from Krypton who has a hand in the the destruction of the planet, akin to Smallville and Superman: The Animated Series. I also hope that they do not short-change Lex. He should try to manipulate Zod and the other extraterrestrials. Not ever be bullied by them. He should stand up to them with the ball Lex Luthor would have....maybe even betray them. (Not sit on a filing cabinet and sip coffee). He should view himself as Earth's true champion and protector and be looking to control this new alien threat...in a way he couldn't control the last one (Superman). He should look to be the Ambassador of Earth.

-R

 

[jthom19802]

But then Costner as Pa Kent?
Diane Lane is too young to play Martha.
Amy Adams is too old to play Lois to Cavill's 27.
And then this?

Sigh.

I'm in no way downplaying your opinion or your ability to share it but I am just hoping that you are being sarcastic and poking a little fun at all the other gripes about the age stuff.

If you're serious, well, can't please everyone all the time.

 

[Maximus One]

This casting new is ****ing insanely great! I've been a fan of Shannon's work for years. He's always been type cast in these small but weird kinda crazy guy roles and he's just now starting to really get great roles where he can really show his acting chops. This is gonna be ****ing EPIC

 

[Robin91939]

Which is exactly why he shouldn't be the guy for the first one. I know it hasn't been mentioned that much in this thread but it has been mentioned.

You cannot throw Doomsday into an origin story. No way you properly convey the Doomsday story in a half hour. Not only that, an essentially rookie Superman is certainly no match for DD; for that matter, a completely veteran Superman was no match for DD.

If they do eventually tell the story, I cannot see how you can tell it without either A. having a 3 hour movie or B. splitting it a la Harry Potter or Twilight. The fight, the death, the funeral stuff, the quad-return, etc.

If you're going to tell the story, tell it right. I think it'd be perfect if one movie ended with Lois and the death and the second one picked up with the funeral stuff.

Granted, that would be geared much more towards the fans than the general audience and financially that may not be something they think is a good idea.

I wasn't clear. I wouldn't want Doomsday for a origin or first flick either. I would just establish and hint at his existence in the first films, while building the Kryptonian mythology. I would save him for film 3.

My dream film sequence:

1- Lex and Brainiac
2- Metallo and Bizarro
3- Doomsday

Zod in flashbacks and his Civil War with the High Council spurs on most events of the films (Brainiac and Doomsday specifically).

-R

 

[Russell Nash]

With General Zod confirmed as a villain, is it safe to assume that Non and Ursa will be making an appearance as well? I pray Nolan and Snyder don't attempt to remake Superman II.

 

[KalMart]

Or...perhaps Kal-El is actually the result of a secret 'super-soldier' program on Krypton, originally unbeknownst to Jor-El who thought he was working with Zod to research health and medicine. Maybe the Kryptonian Sun was made unstable by experiments to extract/produce yellow solar rays in order to activate the enhanced genetics of this new breed of kryptonian. But here in our solar system, it's in abundance, so those Kryptonians who were recipients of these genetic enhancements...like Zod who may have experimented on himself, and Kal-El...become Supermen. Our solar system may have been part of the plan from way back, specifically because of our sun, but when Jor-El discovered Zod's real plan, he had him incarcerated and banished to the Phantom Zone. But too much damage had been done to the Kryptonian Sun, and our solar system was Kal-El's only chance for survival...so Jor-El prepared a ship and plotted it for Earth. So on and so forth.

 

[Zack Snyder]

Not the best, but starting off the Shannon Zod manips...

 

[jthom19802]

I wasn't clear. I wouldn't want Doomsday for a origin or first flick either. I would just establish and hint at his existence in the first films, while building the Kryptonian mythology. I would save him for film 3.

My dream film sequence:

1- Lex and Brainiac
2- Metallo and Bizarro
3- Doomsday

Zod in flashbacks and his Civil War with the High Council spurs on most events of the films (Brainiac and Doomsday specifically).

-R

No, my apologies, I wasn't clear. I was agreeing with you. A hint here and there is perfectly fine for me, even a little back story for setup purposes is also fine by me; I was addressing the three of four people in this thread that were disappointed it wasn't someone else that included Doomsday on their list and was including your description of him to help my argument.

Doomsday is far too powerful and far too superior a threat to be used in an origin or even a first flick.

 

[Zack Snyder]

Zod in general was not necessary imo. I understand they will use him differently/reinvent. It's just that with Brainiac, Lex, Metallo, Darkseid, even Doomsday in some capacity were all worthy villains that could be used. I just don't think Zod was needed if we are moving away from Donnerland completely. With that said, we have to accept it and I have no doubt it will be done in a way less corny than on previous film/tv series.

 

[DorkyFresh]

i hope they keep Michael clean shaven...or if they're gonna give Zod facial hair, use fake hair. his natural facial hair doesn't look good on him.