Michael Shannon playing President Garfield with Matthew Macfadyen as his assassin in new series

Where is there left to go after you've battled Superman and the Flash? The White House, of course!

Netflix has announced that General Zod himself, Michael Shannon, will play President James Garfield on a new historical series titled Death by Lightning, which is based on Candice Millard's 2011 book Destiny of the Republic. The show will chronicle the rise of the 20th president of the United Stares and his assassination in 1881 by a disillusioned former supporter named Charles Guiteau. The latter will be portrayed by Succession star Matthew Macfadyen.

Macfadyen previously played historical figures in the 2021 film Operation Mincemeat and last year's TV show Stonehouse, while Shannon was Emmy-nominated for his portrayal of country singer George Jones on Showtime's George & Tammy.

Death by Lightning is created by Mike Makowsky, writer of the Hugh Jackman-starring 2019 movie Bad Education, and directed by Matt Ross, the filmmaker responsible for 2016's Viggo Mortensen vehicle Captain Fantastic.

The series is executive-produced by Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss.

[Editors' note: This story originally misstated the roles being played by Shannon and Macfadyen.]

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