Two weeks ago, an actor who appeared to be Michael Shannon was spotted on the set of Zack Snyder’s upcoming Superman reboot Man of Steel in a full motion-capture suit. Since it’s known that Shannon will playing General Zod, the outfit sparked much online discussion about the final look of the character, especially given the fact that he was photographed next to the practical costume of fellow Kryptonian Faora (Antje Traue). Now, expect the debate to heat up even further as Shannon confirms to Moviefone that it was, indeed, him in the suit.
“[I]t’s one of the most humiliating garments that exists in the known universe,” Shannon explains, “…It’s very tight. It has a variety of different colors and shapes on it and it makes you feel like you’re the court jester.”
Though he admits that he got used to the costume (which will be replaced in post-production by an currently unknown design), Shannon says he wasn’t a fan of having to don the tights.
“[I]t’s funny because when I met with Zack we were talking about it before it started and he mentioned that there was going to be a lot of CGI… I said, ‘Just don’t make me wear one of those silly suits.’ He said, ‘Oh, yeah, don’t worry, I know exactly what you’re talking about.’ I was like, ‘It’s going to be really hard for me to be intimidating if I have to wear one of those silly suits.’ He said, ‘I totally understand.’ Then I showed up and he’s like, ‘Dude, I swear to God, it’s going to be so badass when we’re done. Trust me, it’s going to be wicked.'”
The reasoning for whatever effect is being employed is still a mystery, but Shannon does tease that he’s not the only actor who will be filmed in a such an outfit.
Also starring Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Diane Lane, Kevin Costner, Russell Crowe, Julia Ormond and Christopher Meloni , Man of Steel is currently targeted for release on June 14, 2013.
UPDATE: In a discussion with MTV News, Shannon dropped more hints about the character.
“I’m not going to impersonate Terrence Stamp,” he says of his take on Zod, “I’m not going to have a British accent or anything. I’m still getting my foot into the pool, you know? I just started working on it and all I can say is that it’s very well written. There’s a lot of really great opportunities to re-invent it for myself.”
Asked about his reasoning in taking what is, for him, a fairly uncharacteristic role, Shannon explains that he is anxious to play up the militaristic side of Zod.
“To me, [being a General is] such an interesting kind of iconoclastic character,” he says, “I can’t imagine even being a Sergeant , let alone a General. He’s in charge of the entire miltary of Krypton. That’s going to take every little shred of imagination that I have. It’s a good challenge.”
You can check out the full video interview in the player below.
