In an interview with Empire magazine, actor Michael Shannon reveals that he turned down a role in the Star Wars franchise due to his increasing wariness of blockbuster franchises. He did not reveal the role he refused, but he did cite his distaste for big films like Star Wars and The Flash, describing how he doesn’t “find them very stimulating to work on.”

According to Shannon, he wants to work on films that have some form of purpose to them instead of relying on what he calls “mindless entertainment” for his career. “I don’t find them interesting and I don’t want to perpetuate them,” he says. “The world doesn’t need more mindless entertainment. We’re inundated with it.” He’s not opposed to movies involving other intellectual properties, but to him, films like this have become vapid funhouses.

When asked about his role in Man of Steel as General Zod, Shannon explains how he felt the film was diving into more interesting themes involving environmental destruction and the effects of colonization. To Shannon, Zod wasn’t an entirely evil character but “a guy whose job is to protect his people.” He felt that the film showed a civilization seeking to conquer another world after destroying theirs, which he compared to Earth coming to Mars after destroying its planet.

Shannon might have had plenty of stimulation playing Zod, but he describes his dissatisfaction with his reprisal in the newly released Flash movie, comparing it to a kid playing with their actions figures. “It’s like, ‘Here’s this person. Here’s that person. And they’re fighting!’” he complains, “It’s not quite the in-depth character study situation that I honestly felt Man of Steel was.” 

With The Flash out in theaters, Shannon appears to be free from any major franchise tentpoles and can spread his wings for other creative endeavors.