Zack Snyder has heard your bitching, and would like us to know that he isn’t pulling a Bryan Singer with Superman, thank you very much.

“Literally, the one thing that everyone can start to think about is that we’re making a movie that finally goes with the approach that there’s been no other Superman movies,” Snyder told Hero Complex.  “If you look at  Batman Begins, there’s that structure, there’s the canon that we know about and respect, but on other hand there’s this approach that pre-supposes that there haven’t been any other movies.  In every aspect of design and of story, the whole thing is very much from that perspective of respect the canon but don’t be a slave to the movies.”

Of course, one might quickly point out that Batman Begins was brave enough to use a lesser known villain, and then move to the familiar territory of the Joker.   But I’m not sure Superman can do that.   Using Zod — a familiar villain, but certainly not as iconic as Luthor — helps tie back to Krypton, and it may also free Superman to tackle other big bads that aren’t as well known to the public.   And if Snyder, Christopher Nolan, and David S. Goyer are approaching it from the angle of reinvention, we could see a wildly different Zod that shatters any and all association with Terence Stamp.   Nolan and Goyer have done it with a villain before, remember?

Snyder remained tight-lipped on any further story details or casting rumors (only Henry Cavill and Diane Lane are officially cast) but he did let loose with his trademark phrase when it came to further additions to the roster: “There’s more to come and I think it’s consistent in its … awesomeness.”

Please, please, please let that translate to Viggo Mortensen or Gerard Butler as Zod.