A few weeks ago, Man of Steel star Michael Shannon inadvertently kicked the hornet’s nest when he made a flippant comment in relation to his minor role in Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice. Quite literally, actually, with the esteemed actor claiming that General Zod would have “flippers” for hands in next year’s mythic blockbuster.
Alas, it turned out that Shannon was merely being mischievous as he danced around the NDAs, keeping the true nature of his involvement on lockdown. However, the actor recently put the record straight in an interview with Larry King.
Recounting his fate at the end of Man of Steel, Shannon then went on to touch upon Dawn of Justice in earnest, though the star offered up precious few details.
King: Do you have scenes just with Superman, or are you with Batman too?
Shannon: I did not cross paths with Batman, no.
King: You recently told Vulture that your character, who was killed off in Man of Steel, had flippers … what is that?
Shannon: [laughs] I was joking. I was being a little mischievous. honestly, it’s an awkward situation because Warner Bros. is always like, “Don’t talk about this, don’t say anything.”
King: Why? Why can’t you say something that entices you?
Shannon: I guess the pressure that I’m under sometimes leads me to say silly things like, “Zod has flippers.”
King: So you were kidding.
Shannon: Yeah, it was a false … it was a red herring, as it were.
Michael Shannon’s place among the titans in Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice was confirmed during the film’s show-stopping Comic-Con trailer, where he – or at least his body – is seen being escorted into LexCorp. Many have assumed that it is here that Jesse Eisenberg’s Luthor salvages the ultra-rare Kryptonite, enabling him to pit the two titular forces against one another. Will this be the way Snyder’s film plays out? We’ll have to wait to find out.
Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice will jump-start the grand DC Expanded Universe when Zack Snyder’s mythic blockbuster touches down on March 25, 2016.
