Michael Shannon went to Man of Steel director Zack Snyder to get his blessings before coming on-board for The Flash.

Speaking to the Bingeworthy podcast, the actor said, “I was hesitant, because I wasn’t really happy about what happened to Zack Snyder in that whole deal,” adding, “And I really love Zack. The fact that Zack asked me to play that part to begin with — that’s probably the biggest surprise of my career. It almost felt like a practical joke. I was like, ‘You’re kidding me, right?'”

Shannon also revealed both The Flash filmmaker Andy Muschietti and Snyder, were cool about his outreach.

“Zack, to his credit, was very understanding,” Shannon continued. “He gave me his blessing, and I went to do it. I loved Andy, too. I loved working with Andy. They’re both super creative guys.”

Previously, Shannon aired mixed signals about the forthcoming superhero movie, saying he was initially “a little confused” when he was approached to reprise Zod.

However, as the multiverse was explained to him, he agreed to come on board, adding, “It was nice to revisit the character.”