Even before we saw theBatman v Superman: Dawn of Justicetrailer that debuted atComic-Con, there have been numerous rumors about the inclusion of General Zod, played byMichael Shannonin 2013’sMan of Steel. A rumor from August claimed that the character’s corpse has been obtained by Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg), and while we don’t know that for sure, we did clearly see Zod’s corpse in the second trailer.Vulturecaught up withMichael Shannonduring a screening of his new film99 Homes, where he shared an intriguing story about his time on theBatman v Superman: Dawn of Justiceset, that raises more questions than answers.
“I was in my costume, and I couldn’t use my fingers because in the sequel I have flippers instead of hands. So I had these wax flippers on my fingers, and I couldn’t open the door, and I could hearZack [Snyder, the director] being like, ‘Where’sShannon? Where the fuck is he?’ and the whole crew was standing around. I was like, knocking on the door with my flippers, ‘Let me out of here!'”
If you’re wondering what these flippers are, so are we, because Zod doesn’t have any flippers in the comics. There are many fans who speculate that Zod may actually be resurrected as the iconicDoomsdayvillain, since many were shocked that Zod was killed off in 2013’sMan of Steel. Director Zack Snyder defended the massive fight between Zod and Superman in a recent interview, but he didn’t give any clues that hint at Zod turning into Doomsday.
Doomsday was recently described as the “muscle” for Lex Luthor, but, even if Doomsday is a part ofBatman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, we don’t know for sure if Zod will become Doomsday, or if this incarnation of Doomsday will have a different origin. Still, the reason forMichael Shannon’s flippers, be they related to Doomsday or not, will remain a burning question, for now at least. The actor was also asked about how his flippers related to the scenes shown in the trailer, but it seems the actor hasn’t caught the new footage yet.
“Well, I haven’t seen the trailer either, so I don’t know what I am in the trailer. I could be a toaster, or a Porsche, I don’t know.”
Do you have any theories about Zod’s flippers in thissuperhero movie? Perhaps Zod’s corpse does actually become a new character, but it’s not Doomsday, perhaps someone with a connection toJason Momoa’sAquaman. Hopefully we’ll find out more in the next trailer forBatman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, which hits theaters July 25, 2025.
