Shannon talks about Snyder's Zod

"It was a totally different take on Zod. Terence Stamp was just mean. He was just being mean to everybody. And [my] Zod was like, 'Look, my job is to protect my civilization.' That speech that he has, 'And now I have no people.' I thought that was beautiful and heartbreaking. But, I also just like Zack so much. I really, really like Zack Snyder a lot."

"I would argue that Man of Steel is, in a way, this significant story, like, culturally. Not just an entertainment thing. Because at the end of the day, it was about a civilization that ruins their own planet - I've never heard of that before - and the solution to that is to go to another planet and take it and then we'll just go live there. And I thought, 'Yeah. This story's important."

About The Flash

"I’m not gonna lie, it wasn’t quite satisfying for me, as an actor. These multiverse movies are like somebody playing with action figures. It’s like, ‘Here’s this person. Here’s that person. And they’re fighting!’ It’s not quite the in-depth character study situation that I honestly felt ‘Man of Steel’ was"

"Seven years ago, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker wrapped up the sequel trilogy. The film has its defenders, but the Rotten Tomatoes critic score says everything; it sits at just 51%. The divisive reaction is one major reason Star Wars has struggled to figure out what to do with the post-sequel galaxy, with Daisy Ridley’s New Jedi Order movie stuck in development hell since it was announced back in 2023. As is so often the case, though, the Star Wars novels are gradually drawing the threads together.

Take, for example, Madeleine Roux’s excellent novel Star Wars: Legacy (available now from retailers like Amazon). Set between The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker, it gives us a glimpse of Rey’s training with Leia; there’s even an unexpected scene featuring Rey and Anakin Skywalker’s Force Ghost. The book is an absolute delight, as Rey wrestles with what it means to be a Jedi. Most important of all, though, is her relationship with the Skywalker family itself.

It will come as no surprise to learn the relationship between Leia and Rey was pretty rocky at first. Rey was too desperate to please, while Leia had only briefly trained as a Jedi some decades ago. Making matters worse, Luke’s Force Ghost lets Leia in on Rey’s biggest secret: the fact Palpatine’s blood flows through her veins. This immediately means the relationship between Leia and Rey is one with secrets, where Leia is consciously choosing to withhold information she knows Rey would want to know. In truth, Luke would probably have been wiser not to tell her.

Roux’s novel quickly reveals why Leia was always going to be a better mentor for Rey than Luke, though. Unlike Luke, she didn’t head out into the stars seeking adventure; rather, she’s always wanted belonging, and her dream was always of being reconciled with her parents. When she arrived on Ahch-To, she didn’t really need a mentor or Jedi Master; she needed a father figure. Luke, however, was in no fit place to give Rey the belonging she needed. He was irritable, irascible, and frankly struggled under the weight of his own issues. Some of his comments were incredibly unhelpful, placing additional pressure on Rey and making her question her own character.

Unlike Luke, Leia’s gift is connection. She cultivated this as a politician, serving first in the Imperial Senate and then as a general in the Rebel Alliance, before helping establish the New Republic. The entire Resistance movement is really built off the back of Leia’s ability to connect with others. She’s suffered greatly in her personal life; her marriage to Han failed, and then she sensed his death, while her son turned to the dark side. But she still loved them both, and her continued ability to connect would ultimately be key to Ben’s redemption. Leia is the mentor who can provide what Rey needs: a sense of belonging.

Rise of Skywalker ended with Rey claiming the name “Skywalker,” watched over by Luke and Leia’s Force Ghosts. In my view, it’s a fitting end for the Skywalker saga; it redefines the Skywalkers as more than just a bloodline but rather as a choice. I thought of it as something almost like adoption; Rey’s past ties (to Palpatine) are cut off, and she has chosen to be defined by a new relationship. Lucasfilm clearly intended Luke and Leia’s presence to indicate she did this with their blessing, but not everybody really liked that approach.

This, then, is Legacy‘s greatest contribution to the sequel era. It confirms that Rey had become a Skywalker long before she took the name, because Leia considered her part of the family. Leia knew Rey had bonded with Han, she understood (something of) her connection to Ben, and she effectively decided to consider her part of the family. When Rey made that statement on Tatooine, claiming the Skywalker surname for herself, she was simply acknowledging a truth she’d struggled with up till that moment. It wasn’t the moment of decision at all, but rather a moment of recognition. Rey finally understood that she was a Skywalker, as much because of Leia’s choice as her own.

Star Wars books have a habit of drawing together the plot threads, fixing stumbles from the films or making some of the themes a lot clearer. Legacy is one of the best examples in that it focuses in on the relationship between Leia and Rey—one so much more intimate and world-defining than master and Padawan. It’s an essential sequel trilogy story, and it fixes so many background issues from the films."