'Man of Steel': Michael Shannon Confirms Zod Sports a Motion-Capture Suit

Wednesday, 07 September 2011 12:52 Written by Jordan DeSaulnier

Add new comment

Rate this item

(1 Vote)

'Man of Steel': Michael Shannon Confirms Zod Sports a Motion-Capture Suit

Over the last week, there's been shortage of talk about the reinvented Superman costume sported by Henry Cavill in Man of Steel, the franchise reboot currently filming under the direction of 300 and Watchmen helmer Zack Snyder. Unofficial images from the Illinois set recently provided the most extensive look at the exceedingly tight outfit, with its addition of stylized lines and elimination of Superman's traditional red underoos. But what of General Zod, the Kryptonian villain played by Michael Shannon? Early set photos from a few weeks back showed a guy with a very Shannon-looking jawline wearing a motion-capture suit, naturally leading to speculation that Zod's costume would be computer generated. Now, Shannon himself has confirmed that his character's Kryptonian regalia will indeed be CGI.

Shannon is out and about promoting Take Shelter, the paranoid and possibly-apocalyptic drama for which he's been earning heaps of praise since it debuted at Sundance in January. Naturally, while talking about an award-worthy performance in an independent drama, everyone wants to glean as much information as is humanly possible about the villain of a superhero spectacle. Though he's obviously not supposed to reveal much of anything, Shannon did shed some light on what it's like wearing spandex.

In an interview with MovieFone, he not only confirmed that he's wearing a motion-capture suit, but also explained how Snyder had initially assured him that this would not be the case. Shannon said,

"Yeah, it's one of the most humiliating garments that exists in the known universe, yes. It's very tight. It has a variety of different colors and shapes on it and it makes you feel like you're the court jester. And it's funny because when I met with Zack 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 said, 'Oh, yeah, don't worry, I know exactly what you're talking about.'

I was like, 'It's going to be really hard for me to be intimidating if I have to wear one of those silly suits.' He said, 'I totally understand.'

Then I showed up and he's like, 'Dude, I swear to God, it's going to be so bad ass when we done. Trust me, it's going to be wicked.' And, you know, people understand and you get used to it. The first day, you feel like you're getting rushed by a fraternity... and then it wears off the next day. Because I'm not the only one wearing one – there are other people wearing them, too."

So, we can assume that this rebooted Zod will look very different from the familiar image of Terence Stamp in Superman and Superman II. One imagines he'll be proudly wearing some Kryptonian technology, particularly since the new Superman costume looks like it will originate from Kal-El's home planet.

Michael Shannon is joined in playing a nefarious Kryptonian by Antje Traue as Faora, whose costume is definitely not CGI. They'll be taking on Henry Cavill as Superman, along with Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Laurence Fishburne as Perry White, and Diane Lane and Kevin Costner as Martha and Jonathan Kent, along with Harry Lennix and Christopher Meloni as human military men. Russell Crowe and Julia Ormond as are also on board as Superman's biological parents.