Meet Your New General Zod

In what is probably the most inspired piece of casting to have occurred lately, intimidatingly intense actor Michael Shannon has been cast as megalomaniacal General Zod in Zack Snyder's upcoming Superman reboot, Man of Steel. I guess this means I won't see Lilo as Lex Luthor after all. Dammit!

Shannon is probably best known for his current work on the HBO series Boardwalk Empire, but he's been giving deeply concentrated, off-the-wall performances since 1993, when he broke into movies with his appearance as Fred, the wedding groom, in Groundhog Day. What? You don't remember him from that? Okay, I don't either. But I do remember him from William Friedkin's startlingly dark Bug, in which Shannon gives one the most memorably disturbing performances I've ever seen. Ever. More recently, he played the intimidatingly intense Kim Fowley in the mediocre rock and roll biopic The Runaways.

Snyder seems to be doing what he can to separate his "awesome" Superman flick from past efforts. To say he went a different way in casting Shannon is an understatement. General Zod was played by British actor Terrence Stamp in director Richard Donner's 1978 classic Superman and less classic 1980 Superman II. Those, of course, starred American actor Christopher Reeve as Superman. Conversely, Snyder has cast the American Michael Shannon as Zod opposite the British Henry Cavill's Superman. Crazy, right?

If nothing else, Snyder is putting in place an intriguing cast for his entry in the Superman filmic mythos. Besides Shannon and Cavill, he's chosen Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Diane Lane as Ma Kent, and Kevin Costner as Pa Kent. Hopefully, David Goyer's script will match Snyder's inspired casting and anticipated patented visual acrobatics.

We leave you with an entertaining video of Shannon, intense yet not intimidating, discussing what it's like to even be considered for a role in a Superman flick, let alone actually cast in one. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you your new General Zod.