The questions surrounding the villain in Zack Snyder's Superman flick have been two-fold: Who would play him/her? And who the heck would the villain be? In one fell swoop we get both questions answered as Warner Brothers issued a press release announcing Michael Shannon(Boardwalk Empire) as General Zod in the highly anticipated superhero film. Shannon was one of the many names rumored to be up for the bad guy role, along with Viggo Mortensen and Edgar Ramirez.
Shannon's been around for awhile, making his debut in a small bit in Bill Murray's Groundhog Day
. He kinda puttered around the big screen for awhile, before really making a splash in William Friedkin's disturbing psycho-drama, Bug
. His big breakthrough came in 2008 when he was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for Revolutionary Road
. In a film that starred Leonardo Dicaprio and Kate Winslet, Shannon was by far the best part. He currently can be seen in the HBO series, Boardwalk Empire
. General Zod is one of Superman's most formidable enemies, a criminal from the planet Krypton just like Superman himself. He was featured in Richard Donner's 1978 Superman
film, as well as the 1980 sequel, portrayed by Terence Stamp both times. One other thing of note: The press release refers to the film as Man of Steel. So it looks like they've finally settled on a hard and fast title.
There are still a few questions left that this move leaves open. First of all, does this mean we won't see Lex Luthor? Doubtful. Luthor's character is such that he doesn't have to be fighting Superman actively to be a factor. Recently, Adam Harris has been rumored to be up for the villainous role, with Lindsay Lohan possibly as his evil assistant. And what about Ursa, the female Kryptonian often seen at Zod's side? Her presence in the film is one of the earliest rumors out there, with names like Diane Kruger, Rosamund Pike, and Alice Eve possibly attached.
