Much like The Dark Knight Rises, Zack Snyder’s upcoming Superman film Man of Steel is being plagued by paparazzi with all kinds of set photos leaking online and fans immediately jumping to conclusions over them. A couple of weeks ago, a spy photo appeared to show Michael Shannon on set wearing a motion capture suit, which led to speculation over whether or not the new General Zod would be at least partially CG-generated. Of course, at the time no one was even sure if it was Michael Shannon in the photo, but this week Shannon himself has spoken up on the matter. As it turns out, he was indeed wearing a motion capture suit and Zod will be, to some extent, a CG creation. This is what he had to say on the matter:

“Yeah, it’s one of the most humiliating garments that exists in the known universe, yes. It’s very tight. It has a variety of different colors and shapes on it and it makes you feel like you’re the court jester. And it’s funny because when I met with Zack we were talking about it before it started and he mentioned that there was going to be a lot of CGI, or whatever. I said, ‘Just don’t make me wear one of those silly suits.’

He said, ‘Oh, yeah, don’t worry, I know exactly what you’re talking about.’

I was like, ‘It’s going to be really hard for me to be intimidating if I have to wear one of those silly suits.’ He said, ‘I totally understand.’

Then I showed up and he’s like, ‘Dude, I swear to God, it’s going to be so bad ass when we’re done. Trust me, it’s going to be wicked.’ And, you know, people understand and you get used to it. The first day, you feel like you’re getting rushed by a fraternity… and then it wears off the next day. Because I’m not the only one wearing one – there are other people wearing them, too.”

At this point it is unclear if Zod will be fully CG or if it will be just his costume, but based on the results of the Green Lantern CG suit, I’d say that some of the concern is warranted. Shannon also recently told MTV that he will be making the character his own and he is “not going to impersonate Terence Stamp.” What are your thoughts on a CG Zod, and are you looking forward to seeing Michael Shannon’s take on the character?