General Zod is coming, and we may be in trouble.
While it hasn’t exactly been kept on the level of a state secret, Warner Bros. has played coy when addressing the idea of whether or not Michael Shannon was cast as Zod for Zack Snyder’s “Man Of Steel,” which arrives in theaters this summer. Shannon confirmed it early on in a few interviews, but the studio kept quiet on the matter.
That all changes this week as the film’s campaign kicks into a new gear, and part of that push is going to involve setting up Zod as the film’s primary villain. Step one? Zod must watch a lot of pro-wrestling or a lot of Christopher Nolan Batman films because he’s playing heel in a 30 second video that was posted to Facebook today. In it, there’s a very Joker/Bane vibe as he lays out a demand for Earth. He wants Kal-El to be handed over, and he makes it clear that there will be consequences if his request is denied.
Krypton may have mastered space travel, but transmission of video appears to have eluded them based on this particular clip. I’m intrigued, and that first great still of Zod that was revealed in this week’s Entertainment Weekly was impressive. Shannon looks terrifying, and both of my kids were immediately onboard, excited to see what a real threat to Superman looks like.
There’s no one ingredient that guarantees a Superman film will work, but what has been sadly lacking in most of the films involving the character, and not just Bryan Singer’s film, has been a figure of genuine menace. It looks like they’ve more than solved that issue this time, and I’m digging each new look at the larger world of Snyder’s film. We’re definitely getting a new trailer this week, so it feels like Warner Bros. is about to cut loose.
In the meantime, check out what was hidden in that video:
As I understand it, the video may contain some other secrets. If any of you speak Kryptonian, maybe you can decode it for us and let us know what you find. We’ll update this article with anything you uncover. In the meantime, Zod’s got me convinced. Let’s give up this Kal-El and head off any trouble. After all, this is about a war on an alien world. Why should we suffer?
“Man Of Steel” arrives in theaters June 14, 2013.