Michael Shannon talks General Zod costume

Following hot on the heels of some leaked snaps of Henry Cavill on the set of Man Of Steel come a few tidbits from Michael Shannon, who’s been talking to Entertainment Weekly about General Zod and what he’ll be wearing.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the billowing capes and parachute pants of yesteryear have become a thing of the past, with Shannon explaining that today’s costumes are slightly less forgiving. “Everything's skin-tight,” laughs the star. “The flowy costumes don't really... that's not the style nowadays!"

When asked whether he has a full-on Krypton costume, Shannon’s answer was intriguing. “There’s two different modes,” he explains. “There’s something that I have to wear a motion-capture suit for, because if I actually wore it, I wouldn’t be able to move.”

“It’s a very big… thing. I actually don’t know what it’s going to look like, I just know that it’s very cumbersome. There’s another thing that I wear that’s an actual costume. It’s pretty simple. There’s no paisley or anything.”

And as well as donning the mo-cap, Shannon has apparently been doing his homework on the world of which he is now a key element.

“I don’t read the comic book,” he admits, “although when I got the job, they sent me a giant DC Comics book that weighs about a ton. It’s got the whole history of DC in it. It’s fascinating, actually. I looked at it with my daughter. She’s really fascinated by it.”

Man Of Steel opens Stateside on 14 June 2013.

George Wales

George was once GamesRadar's resident movie news person, based out of London. He understands that all men must die, but he'd rather not think about it. But now he's working at Stylist Magazine.