The Flash is shaping up to be an outright disaster for Warner Bros., with the mega-budgeted blockbuster in danger of posting a substantial loss for the company. Exactly why this has happened is still up for debate, though one notable factor is that the movie leans way too hard on nostalgia at the expense of telling a coherent story.
We can just about forgive the return of Michael Keaton’s Batman, as at least he gets some form of character arc and development. But others? Well, let’s just say Michael Shannon’s Man of Steel Zod feels like a shadow of his former self.
Shannon has given another one of his straightforward takes on the movie to ScreenRant, with the actor being understandably perplexed as to why he was being asked back after having died in Man of Steel.
“I was very confused, because as far as I remember, I died at the end of Man of Steel. I thought it was a mistake at first. But that was naive of me, to think that a $300 million movie would make a mistake like that! He said, “No, it’s a multiverse.” I said, “oh really? Okay.”
Shannon wasn’t exactly eager to return, having previously revealed “It wasn’t quite satisfying for me, as an actor. These multiverse movies are like somebody playing with action figures.” But it seems his arm was gently twisted:
“I say, “What if I say no?” And [Andy Muschietti] is like, “Well, then I’ll have to rewrite the whole damn script!” So I’m like, “Well, that sounds like a drag. Okay, I’ll do it.”
Shannon underlines that he didn’t have a bad experience making The Flash, even if he did resort to watching YouTube clips to make sure he got the performance right. We just hope he got a decent paycheck for his brief screentime, as The Flash‘s Zod is basically a cardboard cutout of a classic villain who has next to no depth, and simply vanishes from the movie towards the end.
This half-baked revisit to Man of Steel probably isn’t the reason why The Flash is turning out to be such a dumpster fire, but let’s face it, it certainly hasn’t helped.
The Flash is now in theaters.