• Although I must agree with the general "fuckin' Zod" atmosphere of the other comments, I have to give credit to Michael Shannon for being an all around scary badass. But I prefer to remember him as Leonard, the hammer-wielding skinhead inmate from "Let's Go to Prison".

• I too was disappointed in the decision of Zod but Im just trying to look on the bright side that we'll at least see Superman in a knockdown dragout fight of someone his equal instead of Superman throwing a cellophane s shield. They also picked a fantastic actor to play him. But as someone pointed out it's been over 2 decades since we've seen Zod on the big screen. I too don't like the fact that they are reusing a villain who was already well played by Terrance Stamp. I just find the reaction of the comments to be rather ridiculous but apparently that's just me. For the record I was hoping for Brainiac.

• Agreed. I've been following this guy for a while. He was in Revolutionary Road for like 8 minutes and still got the Oscar nod. I'm pissed it's Zod but Shannon is going to make a great villain.

• I thought so

• One more thing while I'm venting: Has anyone at that studio ever seen a Superman comic that we have to go back to the same damn well? Its just like Star Trek,when Star Trek first came out it was boldly going where we had never been before, now its like oh lets just rehash the shit we did before. New Series? lets set it back before the original so fans can be sure not to have to see anything new! New movies,hey lets just rehash the original series! BOLDLY Go you Mother Fuckers! Lets skip ahead a few hundred years in the timeline and take it from there!!!!!!!!!!! SMMFH!

• Yeah... I don't get why they'd use Zod again. You of course are going to have Luthor. He's been alongside Superman even more than Joker is to Batman. Hence why Nolan waited until the second. Yet Luthor you need in every film. You have Luthor using someone like Metallo as a cog to take down Superman. Even better if Luthor is talking to or using some kinda of unnnamed computer program. Then you reveal in the film and set up for the next Brainiac. So you have a chess game between those two over who will take out Superman, with Brainiac trying to rule Earth as his end game. Maybe for that one you also have Intergang and crime boss Bruno Mannheim involved a bit, thus building up to a huge third film involving Apokalips and Darkseid. Geez. I'm only a casual Superman fan and I can think of a more creative line up of villians that can flow organically through a film series. I've lost count of the horrible ideas Warner has had. Remember that Tim Burton fiasco that spend 60 million and never got much if anything filmed? Then there's the JJ Abrams one where Luthor pretty much becomes Zod, ie Luthor was secretly from Krypton. What a (stupid) tweeeest.

• The fairy? That's real mature...

• Would I prefer a different villain? Of course, <----Thats all we're saying give us something new. I loved Zod but thats already been done. Look at it this way,I love boning my old lady,but wouldnt it be cool to bone another hot chick? Variety my man its the spice of life!

• But look at it this way,fuck them

• While I am happy that Singer is not directing this one after that face rape that was Superman Returns(what an apt name though huh same shit you saw before returning),I am very disappointed that we still cant get a new villian. How many millions of fans have said they wanted a new villian? So the studio says "We hear ya fans,and reply with fuck you! Fuck you loyal fans, heres Zod! And expect Luthor to be there again as always as well! But dont worry true fans if this movie suckers enough idiots to make a dollar,we are totally prepared to bring Nuclear Man back! And if that doesnt destroy the franchise entirely look for Will Smiths kid to reprise Richard Pryors role in Supes 3!" But I digress. On the positive side maybe Supes will actually get to fight someone in this one,I mean besides when Kumar kicked his ass in the last one.But at least he stopped that devastating "land scheme" SMFH

• i think you just described the comic book Zod right there.

• Regardless of the story so far, the cast is utterly amazing.

• He was Doc Cross Williams in "Jonah Hex", Rob. Now, while I applaud his performance as Nelson Alden in "Boardwalk Empire", I reaaaaaaally can't imagine him as Zod. I mean, if Zod was a stuffy, zealous bureaucrat to live up to his "General" namesake, then well, yeah, maybe it'll work. But as an homage to the 80s' movie version of Zod? Tough sell, bro. Tough sell.

• I've actually seen this guy in an Off-Broadway show where he was basically the only person on stage the entire time. I can tell you he can act like a motherfuck. I wasn't expecting Zod, but after Superman Returns, I'm liking the idea of Zod to get the taste of Kevin Spacey's unfortunate humiliation out of our collective palates.

• Brainiac was my first reaction too. I mean, another villain that's still fairly well-known, menacing, and broad enough for a full movie on his own and even use again in their "totally happening" JL movie.

• Anyone complaining about this clearly hasn't seen enough things with Michael Shannon. He is NUTS. Like, scary. If this film comes anywhere close to his skills, this is going to be a terrifying General Zod. Also, see Shotgun Stories. It's one of his more grounded roles, but God, what a movie.

• I'd like Superman vs. Liam Neeson as Ra's Al Ghoul.

• Ditto.

• Big Blue also hasn't had a series of movies in the 90s.

• What's wrong with her, exactly? Aside from not being in the comics. Though if they are going to use a Teschmacher, they should hire this girl. http://www.tnawrestling.com/tnaphotos/tna-knockouts/tessmacher/

• I think of all the villains you mentioned, the only one Smallville didn't use at least once was Mongul. Parasite was a meteor freak, but otherwise they've all been used. Maybe the movie should go for the unique touch.

• This dude was great if not completely psychotic in Boardwalk Empire...I can see why they chose him for Zod, but I agree that they should have gone with an underused villain...My vote was for Toyman^^... Seriously though this is just a case of someone on the project loving this guy as an actor so much, they made the villain Zod... Hollywood - 3,798,665,773,442,564,087,673 Us - 37

• At least now we'll see a proper action sequence in a Superman film.

• Don't enhance this with things-that-could-be-awesome, dammit!

• Yeah, not to sound repetitive, but, Michael Shannon is legit. While the choice of Zod is a lame one, Michael Shannon is a scary dude and will probably be the best part of the movie. His casting is the first casting choice I've been genuinely excited about for this movie. All the other ones so far have been good choices but not outstanding. This one is outstanding.

• Exactly... except I really hoped he'd get the nod for Luthor... not freaking Zod.. again.

• Seriously? You have a point, I'll give you that. The sense of entitlement runs so rampant in fanboyism that it's practically a requirement of being a "fanboy". However, does it really do any good to call people names? Yes, some of the posts are just "this is stupid, I hate this" posts, but how are they different from your "you are stupid, and I hate you" post? If you sit back and read ALL of the posts, there are actually some rather cogent points and reasoned arguments to be had. Try having a discussion before you just rail against.

• While it sucks that (as of now) Zod may be the primary villain, Michael Shannon would do a great job with it. His short scenes in "Revolutionary Road" were nuts and he was pretty much the only redeeming value of the movie "The Runaways."

• Yeah, we need to get an evil clone of Clark and "humorous" B plot with Chris Tucker first.

• ¿Que?

• It's funny you should mention Ra's Al Ghoul, since technically him and Scarecrow are less obscure than Zod, with having been on the Batman Animated series and all. Zod was in one movie or two movies and that's roughly it. This people asking for Brainiac or Parasite aren't all comic book fans. A lot of them just saw STAS.

• Michael Shannon is the double t!t$. And perfect for Zod though I agree with "why Zod".

• Is anyone really surprised about this? Directors PURPOSEFULLY cast villains that the audience knows about... I don't think most casual viewers will know offhand who Darkseid or Metallo are, so while they would be cool villains, you guys aren't thinking like filmmakers, you're thinking like comic book nerds. Of course, since Chris Nolan is running the show, my guess is Zod is only part of the film. My guess is that he's the "big bad" (kind of like Ra's Al Ghul in Batman Begins) and will appear sporadically but not come out in force until the second or third act of the film. There'll probably be a scarier, nastier, more badass villain somewhere in the middle; my money is on Brainiac. And this guy is an AWESOME actor, I have no doubt he'll pull off an excellent Zod. Plus, for those people upset about the general lack of speed or action in the last movie... here's exactly what you want, two Kryptonian badasses dukeing it out.

• It would be a severe disappointment if I was expecting anything but.

• Sorry, but only Terrance Stamp is Zod. No one could possibly scream Kneel before Zod and speak of himself in third person for 95% of his lines and pull it off as well. Campy Zod is the best Zod.

• Michael Shannon is a fantastic actor; his performance was one of the highlights of the dreary <i>Boardwalk Empire</i>, he tore it up in <i>The Runaways</i>, and was Oscar-nominated for his turn in <i>Revolutionary Road</i>. The guy has serious chops, and is well-suited to big screen villainy. As for the choice of villain, there are lot of us who aren't deeply knowledgeable of the Superman ethos, and the only villains we can name are Lex Luthor and Zod. So in kick-starting a franchise, going with a known villain is not the worst idea.

• I'm with you on the choice of villain, but you really should know who Mikey Shannon is. He's the best part of Boardwalk Empire (besides the boobs), and in everything i've seen him in, he never phones it in. He was in that Lynch/Herzong joint also. He can play crazy like no one. Still, I would've preffered Doomsday.

• This guy was brilliant in the play and movie by the same name Bug. I think he could be excellent.

• That's two reboots from now.

• So what you're saying is I should just go watch Superman II and call it a day? That's fine with me. Nobody they could cast today would be as sexy as Sarah Douglas, anyway.

• If they were really going to do "something new", they'd create a new character and not even bother doing a Superman movie. Just by the fact that it's a movie with Superman in it, they're doing the same thing that's been done by five movies, three live-action television shows, multiple cartoon series, TONS of comics, and a broadway musical. Where's the new?

• Yeah, well the Batman movies also had Riddler, Two-Face, Mr. Freeze, Catwoman, Poison Ivy, Scarecrow, the Penguin, Bane, & Ra's Al Ghul. Compare that to Superman that has Lex Luthor & General Zod. Big Blue has more than that.

• But from Burton’s Batman to TDK, we had the Penguin, Catwoman, Riddler, Two-Face, Bane, Freeze, Poison Ivy, Scarecrow, Ra’s al Ghul, and Falcone, before the villains started to repeat.

• Zod will get people into a theater. He's a known villain that can fight Superman, and get people who don't read the comics in the door. Those of us that DO read the comics may bitch and moan about it, but let's be honest, we're gonna go see it too. Warner Brothers NEEDS this movie to go well, and this is a "safe" choice. I get that. I don't have to like it, but I get it. The truth is, as others have mentioned, Superman doesn't really have too many villains he can get in a real fight with...he's too powerful. For the most part, Superman's only really credible villains are ones he can't fight physically. Because if everyone was as strong as Superman, then isn't he really just "Pretty-Good-Man"? Having lots of villains that are on par with him physically would diminish his character, plain and simple. Even the bad guys that CAN cause him physical harm (Metallo, Parasite) can only do so because they steal his power from him. Bizarro's his twisted reflection, but (depending on the writer) isn't really evil...how do you fight that? Superman's tough because he's more of an ideal than anything, and you can't fight an ideal with your fists...and that's what you need for a successful movie. So the trade off becomes getting a villain like Lex, who can manipulate one of the physically threatening villains and use them as a weapon against Superman. BUT, as much as I like Kevin Spacey, after seeing him in the last Superman movie, well...I think they're better off giving the character a bit of a break this time out. Which means you need a villain who can fight Superman physically AND stand against him idealistically...which really pretty much means Zod or Darkseid. Can't do Darkseid without doing the Fourth World stuff, which would turn off a lot of non-comics reading movie goers...it can get out there. So it's Zod. It's a solid choice for a leaping off point. I wouldn't mind seeing War World at some point though...

• I completely agree. Sweet Zombie Jesus, are we <i>still</i> following Singer's lead after the sadness that was <i>Superman Returns</i>?!? Why bother bringing in any other members of Supe's well-populated rogue's gallery when we can just keep rehashing Donner's flicks. At least <i>Smallville</i> has done that (albeit, usually quite badly).

• On the one hand, I'm not particularly happy they've gone with Zod again. On the other hand, it could be worse... they could have put Duckie Luthor and Nuclear Man in the film.

• Is it really so hard to make a decent Superman Movie? Why not take inspiration from the Comics or the DCAU. With a good script/direction behind the Movie it should be possible to introducing interesting new characters without, remaking the crappy old Movies (never liked them). How many people what a Lex Luthor obsessed with Real Estate wearing a Toupee having retarded Henchmen and incredibly stupid Plans. Instead of the super smart bussinesman who uses his intellect and money to fuck everyone over who has a super hot (and badass/competent) female Bodyguard. Also if you want to see Superman fight you don't have to bring in the crappy Phantom Zone Kryptonians. Braniac, Metallo, the Parasite, Bizzaro, Inter Gang with high tech Weapons (set up for Darkseid), god even Mxyzptlk. There are many ways for good writers could give the big guy some trouble for 90 minutes. Oh, well. Just press Reboot after everything is done.

• All they'd have to do to keep me from spraying my smuggled beer in fury is to not have Superman fighting normal bank robbers or rescuing a kitty from a tree. Superhero(s) vs. Supervillians plus larger story arc w Zod up to no good. Now make it go!

• I wasn't disappointed before, but now I am. Kudos, sir.

• Sigh. So, let's see the first 1970's Superman movie was Lex Luthor committing real estate fraud. The first reboot Superman movie was Lex Luthor committing real estate fraud. Superman II was Zod. Reboot 2 is Zod. In other news, Dave Chappelle has been signed to play Richard Pryor in Reboot 3...

• It's more that the last Superman movie was nothing more than a Donnor clone, and it SUCKED. We're now up to the sixth Superman movie, and we've only had two comic book villains.

• That's the problem with constant reboots. Ya kinda have to go over previously covered ground. Maybe if they would just forge ahead instead of hitting the reset button everytime a sequel doesn't perform as magnificently as they hoped.

• Three points to consider, in fairness: 1. If you're wondering why they chose Zod again, go back & watch the fight scene between Superman & the Kryptonian villains in Superman II. That alone, in my opinion, was the best damn moment in all the Superman movies, along with just the generally kickass presence of Zod & crew in general. So yeah, I understand why they chose Zod. 2. Do we even know how big a role Zod plays in the movie yet? Do we even know if Zod is going to be the main villain, let alone the ONLY villain? 3. Speaking of which, let's face it, Superman's rogues gallery isn't exactly one of his high points. Rob just basically listed all of the big guns up there, & out of all of them, Braniac isn't exactly a physical threat (& you can argue that the "budget" versions of him & Bizarro were already in Superman III), Doomsday is largely known for one story, which the average audience will be disappointed if they don't get, Metallo & Parasite are threats, but come off as more secondary villains or even hired goons, which leaves Darkseid & Mongul, & Darkseid seems to be seen as more a villain for the whole DC universe. But Mongul, yeah, he'd kick ass. (DISCLAIMER: The preceding comments of Superman's villains come from my own views & observations of them, so forgive me if I missed anything.)

• He'll be a good Zod, but AGREED to everything else. Do something NEW.

• Great actor. Zod was used in the movies 32 years ago, They used the Joker again 19 years later. Can't say this bothers me too much.

• Yeah, I'm not excited for Zod at all, and it's not because he was in Superman 2. What is Zod, really, but evil Superman? That's not even that interesting. He's not Brainiac, that's for sure. Brainiac could be crazy shit. But at least it's not Doomsday. Stupid Doomsday.

• Personally, my biggest disappointment is that it's not Gerard Butler screaming "Son of Jor-El...KNEEL before ZOD!" That would've been epic.

• Zod, again? Dammit. And I really wanted to see this movie too.

• I am Jack's disappointment.

• I really dig Zod--Smallville's handling of him was very dissapointing, and since I loved Revolutionary Road (though my shit was indeed thoroughly wreckedXD) and have yet to see the need to banish Snyder to Nerd Jail with Bay, Shyamalan, and Lucas (at least not until I see Sucker Punch)--I'm actually looking forward to this with cautious optimism. ^_^b

• If Shannon stays on as Zod, I will watch this goddamn thing no matter what. Let Snyder film the whole thing in slo-mo, cast Ernest Borgnine as Superman and Megan Fox as Lois Lane, throw in a Superman/Batman gay sex scene... whatever. Shannon is automatic.

• Does Superman have any other villains? Yes. Then Why in the blue hell are we stuck with Lex and Zod!? On a more positive note, at least Superman will not fight an island...

• The guy is a good actor, if Boardwalk Empire is any indication. However, I am _so_ tired of Zod. This greatly lessens the probability of my seeing the movie the first week. I know I'll go eventually, but I may wait for a bargain show

• I only have two things to say about this. 1) LAME and 2) Michael Shannon IS a good actor BUT PLEASE GOD EVERYBODY LISTENING DO NOT SEE REVOLUTIONARY ROAD IT WILL WRECK YOUR SHIT FOREVER. That is all.

• Lieutenant Hellfire is playing Zod! I can't wait for the crossover memes.

• I love how people are acting like General Zod has been in five consecutive movies yet nobody complained when the Joker was announced for the Dark Knight except for the actor playing him until the movie came out. Rob wanted Joseph Gordon Levitt to play the Riddler in the Dark Knight Rises a villain who was in a previous Batman film but God forbid we have General Zod in another Superman movie. Would I prefer a different villain? Of course, but like someone else said people remember Zod and I think he'll provide a nice balance depending on how he's written. I think that Micheal Shannon is a great choice. He's got tremendous range. He is extremely menacing as Agent Van Alden in Boardwalk Empire. He also played a very flamboyant character in the Runaways Biopic as their manager.

• She isn't on the receiving end

• I'd love to see some Bizzaro action, but that would be a fine tightrope to walk to not offend easily offended groups.

• How would that be unnecessary? =P

• Hey maybe it will be good, I mean I think Zack makes at least good actiony fluff. For whatever reason few seem to like it..or go see it..but what are you going to do?

• When we learned that Lindsay Lohan was reading for Miss. Teschmacher, I know that this movie would be more of the same. Teschmacher is not a comic book character; she only exists in the Donnor’s Superman. At least pretend that this movie will be different and give us Mercy.

• If Zack Snyder's directing, we'll probably see an unnecessary slow-motion anal sex scene with Ursa involved.

• Could be worse...he could be playing General George Zod, US Army.

• Superman hasn't really been used since Superman 2. Zod is essentially what people think of when they think of a Superman movie. If DC is going to get people into theatres, it needs Lex or Zod, and it blew its Lex load already. I would rather have a different villain, of course. In fact, I am not sure why they don't start cross-villaining this stuff up and put in Vandal Savage for a truly epic story, or at least lead up to him. Anyway, it doesn't matter, this movie has to do well for DC to have faith in the franchise and to build on it, and as such I find it hard to criticize using Zod, so long as it leads to a second Superman with a different villain.

• He is going ot be good in the role, but I really want something new. Where is Braniac or Bizarro or well anything new that isn't a giant robot spider. At least it is a valid threat to Superman and not just Lex Luthor trying to do another land scheme and the only fight involves superman getting punched with a kryptonite ring a few times before getting over it and saving the day

• Agreed. No more Zod. Aside from Superman 2, Smallville had TWO interpretations of Zod. One where he took over Lex and last season where he was a younger clone and the primary villain. At least Smallville made some attempts to go through the rogues...

• This guy is pretty damn creepy in Boardwalk Empire, and his voice is particularly dark. He will be a good villain.

TotalComments: 77