The Official Michael Shannon IS General Zod - Part 3

[DarthSkywalker]

So if Zod had the means (technology) to recreate that Genesis machine that allows kryptonians to engineer other kryptonians on board Black Zero, why didn't he just potentially breed himself a new army during those 20 plus years that he was looking for Earth?

No where to put them? Perhaps that is why he needs Earth.

 

[DKDetective]

So if Zod had the means (technology) to recreate that Genesis machine that allows kryptonians to engineer other kryptonians on board Black Zero, why didn't he just potentially breed himself a new army during those 20 plus years that he was looking for Earth?

I have a suspicion that the technology spoke of in the art book is growth codex on Kara's scout ship (which was supposed to be used to create Kryptonian colonies) and which Supes controls through the Kryptonian Command Key. My guess is that Zod's wish for Kal-El to be "patriotic" involves him giving up the key/codex to Zod and aiding in the re-population of their race. Supes won't because he knows that Zod thinks of humans as nothing but animals and now knowing that Earth's sun grants them immortality/invulerability is dead set on wiping away the human population and forging a New Krypton where nothing can harm them.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

It will be a question of bringing Krypton back and the expense of humanity.

 

[InJustice]

If Zod is going to recreate Krypton to a fault (especially with regards to genetic manipulation), what was the point of the civil war? Did he feel the government/ruling council was too corrupt that they needed to be wiped out?

 

[DKDetective]

It will be a question of bringing Krypton back and the expense of humanity.

Yep, Clark/Kal-El will literally have to choose between his two heritages. Whether to be a son of Krypton or a son of Earth. God, I love Goyer as an idea man. So long as Jonah or Johnstad actually gave his script a polish, this could truly be amazeballs!

 

[Markdavid90]

I have a suspicion that the technology spoke of in the art book is growth codex on Kara's scout ship (which was supposed to be used to create Kryptonian colonies) and which Supes controls through the Kryptonian Command Key. My guess is that Zod's wish for Kal-El to be "patriotic" involves him giving up the key/codex to Zod and aiding in the re-population of their race. Supes won't because he knows that Zod thinks of humans as nothing but animals and now knowing that Earth's sun grants them immortality/invulerability is dead set on wiping away the human population and forging a New Krypton where nothing can harm them.

It'll be fun to watch a civilised Zod try to talk Kal-El into joining him on whatever quest he's on, to then turn into a sinister Zod when/if Kal-El refuses to help him.

 

[The Caped Knight]

So glad the military will be powerless against Zod and his forces no access or knowledge or kryptonite this time around.

That's something that always bugged me, how the military would use a Kryptonite dirty bomb or kryptonite weapon against kryptonians or Superman.

I remember that cheap bit in Lois & Clark season 4, Superman vs. Lord Nor in Metropolis and the lethal krypto gas used.

 

[dark_knight08]

This is by far my favorite picture of Michael Shannon as General Zod in Man of Steel.

 

[DMC40]

This is by far my favorite picture of Michael Shannon as General Zod in Man of Steel.

He just looks so badass in all the pics I have seen.

 

[Bran-El]

What did everyone think of Zod's voice in the featurette? It's not exactly what I expected. Made me rewind and play a few times.

 

[TheIrishAvenger]

 

[terry78]

What did everyone think of Zod's voice in the featurette? It's not exactly what I expected. Made me rewind and play a few times.

I like it, he sounds like a normal military guy. He's not supposed to be all royal sounding and proper, for lack of a better term. He was probably a grunt for years.

 

[DKDetective]

I like it, he sounds like a normal military guy. He's not supposed to be all royal sounding and proper, for lack of a better term. He was probably a grunt for years.

There isn't a single military on Earth that works like that. Officers are officers. There are some battlefield commissions from the enlisted ranks to the officer corps, but the majority of the time, the people who become generals are people who went straight into the officer stream after volunteering after or to get post-secondary education. Modern militaries are more of meritocracies than they used to be, but I don't know where people get the idea that the upper echelons of the military were once grunts that worked their way up. For the most part, they are people like Petraeus who demonstrated they had special aptitude even before entering the military and were groomed for high command by going to West Point, serving on staff, etc.

 

[terry78]

Whatever, it's Superman.

 

[DMC40]

What did everyone think of Zod's voice in the featurette? It's not exactly what I expected. Made me rewind and play a few times.

I like it sounds different in that clip like he's losing his grip on reality. But other times he's very calm and collected.

 

[DKDetective]

Whatever, it's Superman.

Yep and I'm fine with it. Being groomed for military leadership doesn't necessarily go hand-in-hand with a royal or aristocratic bearing, but you were the one who brought up the working his way up the ranks thing as possibly a real world justification for Shannon's way of speaking... To an extent, you are correct. Modern military commanders are professional soldiers whose rank is not any way linked to class. Officers' commissions are not reserved for aristocrats and military command is not political in the way it was in Ancient Rome or the Middle Ages. As a result, a lot of generals speak in a manner of fact way being professional soldiers, but it has little to working their way up the ranks and spending time as grunts.

 

[godisawesome]

Of course, Zod was designed by Krypton to be the perfect soldier and their greatest warrior. And since Shannon cited General Grant's memoir's as an inspiration, maybe we should think of Krypton's foremost fighter as being a combination of spec ops commando with the officer's background like that of an early 19th century American military officer.

Grant, Stonewall Jackson, and other future commanding generals of the Civil War had commands or assignments that put them close to the front line during the preceding Mexican-American War. And the Civil War itself saw several officers go from front line command positions to still frontline general commissions. Maybe Zod has more in common with someone like Joshua Chamberlain, or for a darker comparison, Nathan Forrest.

Zod's clearly a commanding officer who has no issue getting his hands dirty and he even seems to have been bred for that purpose. So maybe his vocal inflection is similar to that of a grunt, albeit a highly educated grunt used to command.

And I really like the contrast in his armored looks. The one on Krypton looks refined, vibrant, and "alive," while his other armor has this kind of rough and ugly look. Makes The implication seem like Zod and his crew are still trapped in a stagnant past while Superman is taking off in a fresh direction with his suit's more vibrant coloring.

 

[Kane52630]

Michael Shannon on Good Morning America (new Clip)

http://gma.yahoo.com/video/man-steel-brings-focus-supermans-142743142.html

 

[747]

Fuuu. Doesn't play in my location...

 

[jb007]

They hit a homerun by casting Shannon as Zod. His intensity on screen should bring a whole new demension of Zod to life.

 

[DMC40]

Michael Shannon on Good Morning America (new Clip)

http://gma.yahoo.com/video/man-steel-brings-focus-supermans-142743142.html

Dammit I can't view the clip on my phone waits for it to hopefully be up on YT. What did he say and was there any new clips?

 

[TheIrishAvenger]

Dammit I can't view the clip on my phone waits for it to hopefully be up on YT. What did he say and was there any new clips?

It's just footage, they're talking over the audio.

 

[snowball41293]

Michael Shannon in ShortList magazine:
http://www.shortlist.com/entertainment/films/michael-shannon-3

(There are dueling covers in their Good vs. Evil issue. Shannon's on one. Cavill's on the other. Cavill's interview where he talks a little about Shannon is here.)

 

[TheNextNolan22]

Judging by the majority of reactions from people who've seen the film and sharing their thoughts on Twitter, it seems Shannon is the stand out.

 

[terry78]

Well, he was never gonna be bad in a role unless it just required him to act bad. Hell, even in Premium Rush as goofy as that movie was he was intense.