There’s been a lot of buzz surrounding Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel lately thanks to some on-set shots of Superman himself, Henry Cavill, but what of his nemesis General Zod? Well the actor playing him, Michael Shannon, has a few words on what we can expect from one of our favorite villains, including a possible hint at the plot of the film.

Recently, a questionable shot made it’s way around the web showing what looked like Shannon in a motion capture suit on set. He confirmed to MovieFone that that was indeed him in the suit, “It’s one of the most humiliating garments that exists in the known universe, yes.” Shannon also mentioned he felt like a court jester in the getup. “It’s funny because when I met with Zack [Snyder] we were talking about it before it started and he mentioned that there was going to be a lot of CGI, or whatever. I said, ‘Just don’t make me wear one of those silly suits,’ he told the site, “Then I showed up and he’s like, ‘Dude, I swear to God, it’s going to be so bad ass when we’re done. Trust me, it’s going to be wicked.’”
The Boardwalk Empire actor told IndieWire Man of Steel is going to have a different look to it visually than the Richard Donner films and that, in turn, affects his approach to the classic role Terrance Stamp made famous in Superman II. “I found his performance so powerful that I would be overwhelmed by it if I tried to incorporate it into what I’m doing. There’s no reason to try and replicate it cos it’s perfect the way it is. I’m just trying to go down a different road with it, the script’s a little bit different than the original script.”

On a press junket for his latest film, Take Shelter, he also spoke to MTV about the comparisons or lack thereof in the role. ”I’m not going to impersonate Terence Stamp. I’m not going to have a British accent or anything. All I can say is it’s very well written and there’s a lot of great opportunities to reinvent it for myself. The challenge is for me to do that. There’s nothing holding me back. I think they’re counting on me to give my interpretation. I’ll do the best I can.”
Shannon of course couldn’t give any details as to the plot of Man of Steel but did perhaps hint at what we’ll be seeing of the good General. ”Being a general, to me, that’s a fascinating, iconoclastic character. I can’t imagine being a sergeant, let alone a general,” he said, “He’s in charge of the entire military of Krypton. That’s going to take every little shred of imagination that I have. It’s a good challenge because it’s a big distance to have to go.”
A CGI costume, different visually from the past Superman films and a mention of actually leading a Kryptonian army. Hmm, could we be getting a film that takes place partially in space, pre-Krypton demise?