Michael Shannon, who was nominated for an Academy Award for Revolutionary Road, isn't exactly the actor to sign for big blockbuster movies. Some of his best roles to date have been in small – but excellent – movies, such as Take Shelter and Midnight Special. So it was quite a surprise for some of us when it was announced that he would portray Zod in the Man of Steel reboot.
Since then, the actor has expressed his feelings about blockbuster movies (and superhero films in particular) on several occasions. Most recently, he said that he fell asleep when watching Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, a film in which his Man of Steel character is transformed into Doomsday. Does that mean that he's had enough of such roles? Yes. And yesterday, the actor also said something about Disney (which, as you know, owns two of the biggest franchises of all times, the MCU and Star Wars).
Talking about this with Fandango, the actor was asked whether he'd like to join any of the Disney universes. To which he replied, quite surprisingly, that he was already offered a role - although he didn't specify in which of these franchises. Here is what Michael Shannon said:
No, I'm not really looking for that. They called me recently about some iteration - I won't say - but some version of a movie that's been made already countless times. They were gonna give me a lot of of money, but I was like, nah. Big movie, too. But I have to think it's an interesting story. If I don't, I can't do it. I won't do it.
Is that a controversial statement? It might be for some. But Michael Shannon deserves much respect for sticking with roles he considers interesting enough for him. Who knows? Maybe down the line there will be some other comic book movie that will capture his attention.
For what it’s worth, with the exception of maybe one scene, he did a great job as Zod in Man of Steel.