While Zack Snyder’s “Man of Steel” started off the Snyder-verse in a far better light than it ended, the film wasn’t without its issues or controversy.
Perhaps the most debated about aspect was that of the 2013 film’s ending in which Superman kills the film’s villain Zod (Michael Shannon) to save several innocent lives, an action that many DC fans have taken umbrage with.
In a wide sweeping interview with Vanity Fair as part of its Scene Selection series, Shannon reflected on some of his most notable performances and touched upon the creative choice made by Snyder in regards to the scene. Watching the scene again, Shannon says:
“I guess one of the controversies with this film — and Zack engineered this really — is that Superman is not supposed to kill anybody, so I put him in a situation where if he wants to save these people, he has to kill me, and he does, and that obviously led to a lot of sturm and drang, or whatever you say.
I really loved working with Zack, and I really loved making this movie. I think a lot of people say, ‘Oh, you know, this isn’t what he usually does. He just went for the big payday or something.’ But I’m proud of this movie. I think it’s actually about something.”
Shannon ended up reprising the role a decade later for Andy Muschietti in the 2023 feature “The Flash”.
