The World Doesn't Need More Mindless Entertainment, Says Michael Shannon
Actor Michael Shannon shared in a recent interview with Empire magazine (via Insider) that he turned down an undisclosed role in the Star Wars franchise due to his reservations about large-scale Hollywood franchises. In the interview, Shannon expressed his reluctance to commit to such projects, emphasizing that they consume a significant amount of time and fail to provide him with creative stimulation.
«I don't ever want to get stuck in a franchise,» Shannon said, without revealing the specific role he declined. «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.»
Ironically, Shannon did find himself involved in a franchise when he accepted the role of General Zod in Zack Snyder's Man of Steel, the inaugural film in the director's DC Universe. Shannon clarified that he agreed to be part of Man of Steel because he believed the script conveyed a significant message.
«The movie essentially explores a civilization that destroyed their own planet and believes the solution is to destroy another,» Shannon explained. «When you hear that hypothetically, if we destroy the Earth, we might go live on Mars--it's the same thing. I didn't view Zod as a villain. I simply saw him as a character tasked with protecting his people.»
Although Shannon found fulfillment in his work on Man of Steel, the same sentiment did not apply to his reprisal of the villainous character in the recently released DC blockbuster, The Flash.
«I won't deny it--personally, it wasn't entirely satisfying for me as an actor,» Shannon candidly shared in an
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