Michael Shannon Fell Asleep Watching ‘Batman V Superman,’ Reveals He Never Stepped Foot On Set

Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice proved to be rather divisive upon its release. There were those that found it to be truly spectacular and were thoroughly enthralled by its action, while others found it nonsensical and too chaotic. Michael Shannon falls into neither camp because he has now admitted that he fell asleep while watching it.

The Academy Award-nominated actor made this revelation to Fandango, which came as something of a surprise because, even though it was in a non-speaking role, for all intents and purposes, Michael Shannon was one of the stars of Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice, as his character, General Zod, popped up in the film.

After being asked whether he’d actually watched Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice, Michael Shannon immediately recognized that he was on the verge of saying too much, as he responded, “You’re gonna get me in trouble, man!”

But that didn’t stop Shannon from finally admitting that he hasn’t actually watched Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice, a secret that he’s kept to himself while being interviewed ever since the blockbuster was released back in March.

“People ask me about this all the time,” Michael Shannon admitted. “Okay, I’ll tell you the god’s honest truth. Zack [Snyder] is gonna kill me for this — he’s gonna kill me. I watched it once and I fell asleep.”

But before we admonish Michael Shannon for failing to actually see Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice, the actor insisted that he had a legitimate reason for not staying awake while watching the superhero hybrid.

“I was on an international flight and I was tired,” remarked Shannon.

Rather than interpreting Michael Shannon’s revelation that he fell asleep as a negative review of Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice, the interviewer gave the actor the benefit of the doubt. However, he did criticize Michael Shannon for trying to watch Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice on a long distance flight, especially because the tiny screen was never going to do the blockbuster justice.

Michael Shannon was man enough to admit the error of his ways, though.

“No, you’re right. I shouldn’t have been watching it on a plane. But I never go to the movies anymore! I don’t have time to see anything. I used to go to the movies all the time when I was 20 years old and wasn’t working 10 days a week.”

But it turns out that Michael Shannon might not have been as involved in Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice as the appearance of General Zod originally suggested. That’s because during another interview that he conducted with Cinema Blend, the actor revealed that he never stepped onto the set at all, and instead they used a doll to recreate his naked body. However, Michael Shannon did do some work on Batman V Superman when he recorded lines for a scene that was eventually cut.

“I never set foot on the set of Batman V Superman. In the movie there’s a large rubber version of my naked body that Lex Luthor is playing with. I was not, the only thing I did for that is I did some ADR of some lines that Zack thought he might use in the movie of my disembodied spirit talking to Lex Luthor, but other than that…,” Shannon explained.

So, since he’s not actually in Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice, maybe it’s not such a travesty that Michael Shannon decided to give the blockbuster a miss after all. You can next see Michael Shannon in Nocturnal Animals, which will hit cinemas on November 18.

[Featured Image by Warner Bros.]