The first major villain of the DCEU film franchise, along with his second-in-command, is back from the dead. Michael Shannon and Antje Traue are set to appear in 2022’s The Flash. Warner Bros. released a movie preview list for all the films the studio has coming out in 2022. Both Shannon and Traue’s names appear on the cast list for The Flash. Shannon played General Zod in 2013’s Man of Steel, the first film in the DCEU franchise. Traue played Zod’s sub-commander Faora. Both actors will reprise their roles in the upcoming film.
These two actors are not the only ones reprising their famous roles. Former Batman Michael Keaton will be donning the black cape in The Flash. Keaton has also been confirmed to be reprising the role in HBO Max’s Batgirl, also set for release in 2022.
There is much speculation arising from these cast announcements that DC is about to go into a multiverse storyline. These speculations are particularly strong when due to both Keaton and Ben Affleck playing Bruce Wayne/Batman in these upcoming films. And considering the fact that General Zod had his neck snapped in Man of Steel, Shannon’s casting seems to only be confirming the multiverse theory. DC has explored the multiverse in the Arrowverse TV franchise, and given the recent success of multiverse storylines in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and Spider-Man: No Way Home, it makes sense that DC would want to explore their own multiverse even more.
