The Flash's Michael Shannon Roasts Multiverse Movies, "Like Somebody Playing With Action Figures"

The multiverse is all the raged in superhero cinema. While the Marvel Cinematic Universe fleshes out multiple films and shows using the plot device, DC Studios' The Flash will also tackle the idea head-on. As has been the case with Barry Allen for the past few decades, the Scarlet Speedster can run so fast, he's able to access the Speed Force and traverse time and reality. The framing is a hit or miss scenario for many given the complexities involved with having multiple characters played by multiple actors across various timelines.

One of the people multiverse storytelling doesn't mesh will with is Michael Shannon, the actor behind General Zod in both Man of Steel and The Flash. Though the character will soon return in a second movie, Shannon recently said he's not too fond of the story, even throwing some shade at the idea of the multiverse.

"Yeah. I'm not gonna lie, it wasn't quite satisfying for me, as an actor. These multiverse movies are like somebody playing with action figures," Shannon said in a recent chat with Collider. "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. 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."

Is The Flash based on Flashpoint?

Flashpoint is the definitive story featuring the speedster as he travels back in time to try saving his mother's life, only for timelines to get wonky because of the world's biggest butterfly effect. Though the upcoming blockbuster is loosely based on the same idea of the comic event, filmmaker Andy Muschietti wanted the film to remain as original as possible.

"The studio wanted to tell the story and, of course, I agreed that it was a great story," Muschietti told us earlier this year. "It's basically time travel that includes the origin story, which is basically the mother and the father, and their accident. All of those elements were sort of attached to this thing. That's why in my opinion, it was like you're killing several birds with the same stone in a way. And of course time travel is always a good idea. Batman is always a good idea."

The Flash speeds into theaters on June 16th, promising to reshape the DC Multiverse with the help of familiar faces and brand-new heroes. Barry Allen (Ezra Miller) ventures to the past to change history, resulting in massive repercussions for the future. Forced to team up with another version of Barry, the mysterious Kryptonian known as Supergirl (Sasha Calle), and the iconic Batman (Michael Keaton), the Scarlet Speedster is forced to reckon with his mistakes and save a doomed reality. The Flash is directed by Andy Muschietti, written by Christina Hodson from a story by Joby Harold, and produced by Barbara Muschietti.

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