Michael Shannon turned down a role in ‘Star Wars’ franchise: ‘I’m always a bit wary about those giant movies’
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Michael Shannon, a top Emmy Awards contender for his performance in “George & Tammy” and General Zod in the DC universe of films, said in a recent interview with Empire that he turned down a role in a “Star Wars” film to avoid becoming part of a franchise.
The comments were published in the print version of Empire and aren’t online. But that didn’t stop numerous sites – including this one! – from picking up Shannon’s statements after it was first aggregated by Insider a few days ago.
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“I’m always a bit wary about those giant movies. Because they take a lot of time and I don’t find them very stimulating to work on,” he reportedly told Empire. “I don’t ever want to get stuck in a franchise. I don’t find them interesting and I don’t want to perpetuate them. If I’m making something, I want there to be some kind of purpose to it — I don’t want to make mindless entertainment. The world doesn’t need more mindless entertainment. We’re inundated with it.”
Shannon’s comments came as he returned to theaters for “The Flash,” the DC property that is part of the larger franchise of films in which the actor has a key role. He played General Zod in Zack Snyder’s “Man of Steel” film and briefly returned to appear as the then-deceased character in “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.” Shannon once again plays Zod in “The Flash,” a twist made possible by the fact that the film explores the multiverse. Not that Shannon is a big fan of the narrative conceit.
“These multiverse movies are like somebody playing with action figures. It’s like, ‘Here’s this person. Here’s that person. And they’re fighting!’ It’s not quite the in-depth character study situation that I honestly felt ‘Man of Steel’ was,” Shannon said recently in an interview with Collider. “Whether people think that’s crazy or not, I don’t even care. I really felt like ‘Man of Steel’ was actually a pretty sophisticated story. I feel like ‘The Flash’ is too, but it’s not Zod’s story. I’m basically there to present a challenge.”
Shannon has been talkative in recent weeks about “The Flash,” which underperformed at the box office despite early praise from the likes of Stephen King and Tom Cruise (two righteous men since the movie is actually good). Speaking to Looper recently, Shannon said he wasn’t sure how Zod could return after being killed by Superman in “Man of Steel.” “Then they explained to me the whole multiverse phenomenon, which … I was a little behind the times on that,” he said. “I can’t say that I’m a huge consumer of this genre of films — not that I have anything against them. If I’m going to watch a movie, the odds are it’s not going to be one of those, but I sure love making them.” Just not “Star Wars,” maybe?
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