The Flash is set to bring an end to the SnyderVerse as fans know it and herald in the new age of the DC Universe, helmed by James Gunn and Peter Safran. Despite this, General Zod actor Michael Shannon still asked for a blessing from the director who started it all: Zack Snyder
The Flash serves as an end and, in many ways, a culmination of everything the Snyderverse was and failed to be due to studio politics. The film will see Ezra Miller’s Barry Allen travel back to an alternate timeline of Zod’s invasion in Man of Steel, which leads him to blows with the general played by Michael Shannon. While Zack Snyder hasn’t been involved with anything DC besides his Snyder Cut, Shannon still felt he needed the director’s blessing to reprise his role as Zod. Much of this, according to him, was because of the raw deal Snyder got following his departure from Justice League:
“I was hesitant [to come back] because I wasn’t really happy about what happened to Zack Snyder in that whole deal,” Shannon told the Bingeworthy podcast. “And I really love Zack. The fact that Zack asked me to play that part to begin with – that’s probably the biggest surprise of my career. It almost felt like a practical joke. I was like, ‘You’re kidding me, right?’”
Luckily for both fans and Shannon, both Snyder and The Flash director Andy Muschietti were incredibly understanding of how he felt. In the end, Shannon was able to get the blessing:
“But I talked to Andy [Muschietti] about it, and I liked Andy, and I said, ‘Andy, look – I just want to get Zack’s blessing on this because it just doesn’t feel right without that.’ And Zack, to his credit, was very understanding.” He continued “He gave me his blessing, and I went to do it. I loved Andy, too. I loved working with Andy. They’re both super creative guys. Andy’s an amazing artist. He would just make these drawings when I was sitting there talking to him. I’d look over and say, ‘Hey, can I keep that?’ and he’d go, ‘Sure!’ and sign it and give it to me.”
It seems as though Snyder made the right call. Early reactions to the film shower it with overwhelming praise for its action and its heart. While The Flash may mark the end of Snyder’s vision for the DCEU, it may serve as the beginning for something even greater.
The Flash’s DC Universe future
Warner Bros. Discovery already has a script for a potential sequel to The Flash, written by David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick, the man behind the two Aquaman movies starring Jason Momoa. However, James Gunn and Peter Safran did not discuss the Flash sequel during their DC Universe presentation.
Directed by Andy Muschietti from a script written by Birds of Prey scribe Christina Hodson, The Flash is inspired by the Flashpoint comic book storyline, which followed Barry Allen as he navigated an altered DC Universe. Written by Geoff Johns and penciled by Andy Kuber, Flashpoint radically altered the status of the DC Comics universe and led to the launch of the New 52 titles.
In addition to Ezra Miller, The Flash also features Michael Keaton and Ben Affleck as two separate versions of Batman, Ron Livingston as Henry Allen, Maribel Verdú as Nora Allen, Kiersey Clemons as Iris West, Michael Shannon as General Zod, Antje Traue as Faora-Ul and Sasha Calle as Supergirl. Saoirse-Monica Jackson, Rudy Mancuso and Luke Brandon Field are also on board in undisclosed roles.
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Source: The Playlist
