Many people have had their say on last year’s controversy around Ezra Miller, but someone who is more than happy to show support for the actor is Man of Steel actor Michael Shannon. Returning as General Zod for The Flash, Shannon spoke about working with Miller while being interviewed by Vanity Fair, and he revealed that he believes there should be some lenience given to celebrities as there are many in the industry that “have issues.”

Michael Shannon returns to the DC franchise in an unexpected appearance as Zod, especially when considering his character’s death. However, this is the multiverse and that means that anything is possible, including the appearance of some long-gone heroes and villains from the franchise. When it comes to how Miller became a bit of a public villain himself, Shannon has a very clear view on how he feels about that. He said of the situation:

“But I hear there’s been some—I’ve gotta admit, I’m not looking at the trades every morning, keeping my finger on the pulse of things, but I know there’s been some issues. It seems like they’re ready to let it out. If you’re talking about Ezra [Miller], I thought Ezra was lovely—very kind to me when I was there. It’s difficult to talk about, but I always give people a lot of slack in this business, because there’s a lot of people in this business that have issues. And some people have more privacy than others. Any time somebody is out in the spotlight getting picked on, I feel for them. Even if it’s warranted, it’s still a horrible situation.”

Related: Michael Shannon Got Zack Snyder's Blessing to Return as General Zod in The Flash

Michael Shannon Was Surprised To Return As General Zod.

Michael Shannon in Man of Steel
Warner Bros. Pictures

First appearing as General Zod in Man of Steel as the antagonist to Henry Cavill’s Superman, Michael Shannon believed that his time in the DCEU was over following the death of his character. While he did make a brief appearance as Zod in Batman v Superman, albeit as a corpse, returning in any other capacity seemed to be out of the question. That is probably why the actor was so confused to find himself reprising his role for The Flash. He previously said:

"I was a little confused. As memory serves me, I think I died in Man of Steel. Are they sure they got the right guy? But then they explained to me the whole multiverse phenomenon, which... I was a little behind the times on that. 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."

Fans are certainly hyped to see Shannon back as Zod as he takes on Sasha Calle’s Supergirl and Michael Keaton’s returning Batman, as well as Ezra Miller’s The Flash. With the last two DCEU movies having failed to impress, The Flash is set to change everything this summer, and that could also mean changing the fortunes of the franchise for the better.

The Flash will arrive in cinemas on June 16, 2023.