When it was first announced that James Gunn was taking over DC Studios and that the entire cinematic franchise would be rebooted, there were fans who were excited and those who were disappointed. While the DCEU certainly had its issues, many in the cast were perfect in their roles, and some had barely had a chance to show what they could do.

Sasha Calle played Supergirl in The Flash, one of the last movies of the previous franchise. Since certain elements from the DCEU, like Blue Beetle and Peacemaker, were surviving the reboot, some wondered if Calle might as well, before it was confirmed Miley Alcock would play a new Supergirl in the upcoming DC movie focused on the character. While Calle originally admitted to being disappointed in not staying in the role, she recently told EW she’s nothing but grateful for the experience of playing Supergirl:

Sasha Calle’s Supergirl is regarded by many as the best part of The Flash, a movie that has more than a few problems. Still, Calle’s performance was good enough that, until we were sure her time was over, many hoped to see more from her. There were those who were quite disappointed that Calle wasn’t called back into service.

To be fair, the Supergirl in the new film is a very different sort of character than the one Calle played. Calle's character in The Flash was much more like a traditional take on Superman who just happened to be Supergirl. Milly Alcock's take is a hard-partying outcast.

Sasha Calle is seemingly not one of those people, however. The Flash was her big screen debut, and while it may not have resulted in more work for DC, it opened the door for the actress to do other things. She directly credits playing Supergirl to leading to where she is now, co-starring in the new movie The Rip (available tomorrow with a Netflix subscription) alongside the likes of Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. She continued…

Who knows? While the door to playing Supergirl may be closed, if Jason Momoa can go from playing Aquaman to playing Lobo, then there’s always the chance Sasha Calle could find a new calling within the DC Universe. She’s certainly shown she can handle it.

The comic book genre has been going through some big changes lately, thanks to the los of the DCEU and the inception of the newly formed DCU (both of which are streaming with a HBO Max subscription). Co-CEO James Gunn is the architect behind the new shared universe, and fans are curious about what characters might pop up in upcoming DC movies. Some epic fan art has turned Cobra Kai actor Jacob Bertrand into Flash Wally West, and he's totally pulling off the costume. Let's break it all down.

The first slate of of DCU projects is titled Gods and Monsters, and so far we've been treated to two TV shows and a movie. Fans who spent years watching the DC movies in order are wondering about which actors will play various superheroes as we get deeper into the cinematic universe. Case in point: some art that imagines what Bertrand could look like as Speedster Wally West. Check it out below:

I mean, how cool is that? It's currently unclear if/how Speedsters will factor into the DCU, but comic fans would likely love to see this design for Flash if/when Wally West joins the new shared universe. The cowl looks pretty epic, complete with his hair hanging outside of it. Hopefully James Gunn offers some clues about the character's possible role in the franchise sooner rather than later.

Bertrand is primarily known for playing Eli "Hawk" Moskowitz in Cobra Kai, which put him in a ton of thrilling action sequences. Ever since Xolo Maridueña debuted as Blue Beetle, fans of the Karate Kid spinoff have been hooping to see more of the actors follow suit and join the DCU. And you can't deny that Bertrand looks awesome in the above piece of fan art.

While there's no telling how James Gunn is planning The Flash in the DCU, Speedsters have been adapted into film a number of times in recent years. That includes Grant Gustin's Flash series on The CW, Ezra Miller famously played Barry Allen in the DC Extended Universe. In addition to cameos in Suicide Squad, and Batman v Superman, Barry was a main character in both versions of Justice League as well as (obviously) Andy Muschietti's Flash movie.

As previously mentioned, we're still very young into the life of Gunn's newly formed DC Universe. Things first kicked off with Creature Commandos, before we got Superman in theaters and Peacemaker Season 2 on HBO Max.

Whenever The Flash joins the DCU, I'm eager to see how James Gunn and company will bring his powers to life. Showing super speed on camera can be a challenge, and we've seen some examples of this in projects like Eternals and the X-Men movies. We'll just have to wait for casting news, and if Bertrand actually gets to play the role.

The DCEU and DCU are both streaming now on HBO Max, while The Flash TV series is streaming on Netflix. The next DC movie hitting theaters is Supergirl on June 26th as part of the 2026 movie release list.

The superhero genre has been dominating the entertainment world for years, and is showing no signs of slowing down. In addition to shared universes like the MCU and DCU (the latter of which is streaming with a HBO Max subscription), there's also been other titles set outside of them. Case in point: The CW's Arrowverse, including The Flash. Actor Tom Cavanagh famously played Reverse-Flash in that Speedster series, although it turns out that at one point he completely peed in his costume thanks to a design error. Ouch.

The Flash (which is streaming with a Netflix subscription) ran for a whopping nine seasons, so you would think that they would have made the design of superhero suits would have been a streamlined experience. But that wasn't the case, and Cavanagh shared at Fan Expo Denver (via ThePopVerse) that he ended up having an emergency situation while filming one of the Arrowverse crossovers. As he told it:

That definitely sounds like a design issue. But this bathroom-related issue is not exclusive to Tom Cavanagh's costume as Reverse-Flash. It's a common issue for actors lucky enough to take on superhero roles. Christian Bale's advice to fellow Batman Ben Affleck was to make sure he could still use the bathroom in costume, given the long and grueling hours on set. So this is an issue that's going back years and across various franchises.

Unfortunately, Cavanagh's story about being unable to use the bathroom resulted in a somewhat humiliating moment on set. As he went on to share with the convention audience:

Yikes. Despite how badass Cavanagh looked as Reverse-Flash, the reality of wearing his signature suit was far less glamorous... especially when he ended up going to the bathroom while still wearing it. I sure hope these costumes were easily washed because now I'm just picturing him having to wear a urine-soaked look while continuing to film as Eobard Thawne / Reverse-Flash.

As previously mentioned, this design flaw seems fairly common for actors wearing custom superhero suits. Recently Tessa Thompson and Jennifer Lawrence shared stories about being asked to pee into a funnel while suited up as Valkyrie and Mystique respectively. But at least they didn't have an accident in their costumes.

The Flash is streaming in its entirety over on Netflix. All new DC projects are landing on HBO Max nowadays, including Creature Commandos, Peacemaker Season 2, and Superman. Hopefully James Gunn and company are making sure actors can use the bathroom nowadays.

After debuting as Barry Allen in the middle of Arrow Season 2, Grant Gustin led The Flash for nine seasons, with his tenure as the Scarlet Speedster coming to an end on May 24, 2023. Nearly two and a half years later, Gustin admitted that The CW series’ final episode was not the sendoff for the show he’d hoped it’d be. Despite that, though, there was one silver lining that came with how filming “A New World, Part Four” worked out.

Grant Gustin recalled his experience filming The Flash series finale while sitting in on a SpaceCon panel (via X user @SnatchingTasha), first starting off with how the original plans for the episode needed to be changed after he got sick. As the actor explained:

For a TV episode, three to four days is a solid chunk of time, and for this to happen on The Flash’s final episode (which was inspired by shows like The Office and Lost) must have stung especially hard. But health and safety comes first, and one of the ways the script was reworked was scrapping Gustin from reprising his second biggest character on the series. He continued:

At the beginning of The Flash series finale, Eddie Thawne, who’d become Cobalt Blue, snatched past versions of speedster baddies Reverse-Flash, Zoom, Godspeed and Savitar to battle Team Flash. Savitar, of course, was the time remnant of Barry’s who served as Season 3’s main antagonist. While Tobin Bell retuned to vocally reprise Savitar, The Flash crew had to forgo showing showing the armored villain unmasked and making up Gustin to have the “pizza face,” as Eobard Thawne once described it.

Despite these setbacks, Grant Gustin was touched by the last scene he shot on The Flash. This was also the series’ last scene, with Barry Allen running through the streets of Central City, as seen at the top of the page. Gustin concluded:

Prior to this moment, Barry Allen unleashed a lightning bolt to share his speed with Avery Ho, Max Mercury and Jess Chambers. We’ll just have to imagine what having these three new speedsters running around Central City looks like, but I’m glad Grant Gustin found this silver lining in the midst of these disappointing, but necessary changes. You may also recall there was a time that Gustin approved of the fan theory that Barry would become the very bolt of lighting that gave him his powers, but Showrunner Eric Wallace convinced him this wasn’t the way to go.

The Flash can still be streamed with a Netflix subscription if you’re in the mood to revisit its nine-season run, as are Arrow, Legends of Tomorrow, Supergirl and Black Lightning. Batwoman, as well as Arrowverse-adjacent shows like Superman & Lois and Stargirl, can be accessed with an HBO Max subscription.

The superhero genre is showing no signs of slowing down, and fans who watched the DC Movies in order will recall how Andy Muschietti's The Flash (which is streaming with an HBO Max subscription) was one of the final installments in the DCEU. The IT director recently responded to the hate the movie got, saying people "like to talk shit". He also spoke about how the PR surrounding star Ezra Miller might have influenced the movie's performance.

While co-CEO James Gunn is crafting a new DCU, many fans are still unpacking what went down with the previous shared universe. Case in point: Muschietti's conversation with The Playlist, where he addressed what went down with The Flash's box office and critical performance. He offered:

I mean, he's not wrong. The internet is a relentless place, and there are plenty of moviegoers who enjoy talking smack about various projects. The Flash's CGI has gotten a ton of criticism, including viral clips that might have dissuaded people from giving the DC flick a chance. Add in the fact that the new DC Universe has already been announced, and some folks simply didn't bother to see Muschietti's blockbuster.

There is another big factor that might have influenced so few people seeing The Flash in theaters: various controversies surrounding star Ezra Miller at the time. They had a number of legal shakeups leading up to The Flash's release in theaters. And while Miller eventually apologized and sought treatment for mental health issues, their personal life did feel like a cloud surrounding the DC movie. Muschietti briefly touched on this, saying:

When I finally saw The Flash, I didn't understand why it got so much hate. I thought it had a unique, fun multiversal story that featured both comedy and some epic crossovers. And while Andy Muschietti has theories about why it didn't perform at the box office, he stands by the movie itself. As he went on:

Suddenly I'm feeling the urge to give The Flash a re-watch. While it's not a perfect movie, I thought it looked and felt like it jumped right off of the comic book page. Plus who doesn't want to see Michael Keaton return as Batman?

The Flash is streaming now on HBO Max, which will also be the home of Andy Muschietti's forthcoming IT prequel Welcome to Derry. That series will debut October 26th as part of the 2025 TV schedule.

During its 11-year TV run, the Arrowverse introduced a slew of DC superheroes to audiences across a variety of shows, and many of the franchise’s biggest stars will likely remain tethered to their roles for the foreseeable future. Grant Gustin knows all about that, and seemingly at every turn, fans are clamoring to see him back in the role for James Gunn, even though he was seemingly happy to step away from the small screen role. Now, though? The actor sounds less hesitant.

Gustin and some of his former Flash co-stars appeared on stage for a reunion panel held at Fan Expo Denver, where a young fan made a big Q&A splash by asking the musical theater vet (via @superflashwest) who he’d want to play if Gunn asked him to head up one of the DCU’s upcoming superhero movies. Allowing only the slightest beat to pass before answering, Gustin shared this brevity-infused response:

Amusingly enough, Gustin sounded somewhat sheepish when replying, presumably because he knows it was the answer that everyone in the audience desired the most, and didn't want to go against such expectations. Especially when the person asking was so young. It'd be a lot easier to give a disappointingly practical answer when it's an adult fan holding the microphone, I can imagine.

All things pragmatic aside, the audience's jubilant cheering served as a pretty good example of how the superhero fandom at large would react if James Gunn dropped the surprise news that Grant Gustin would be joining the DCU show as a speedster. To be sure, the actor previously said he would portray the DCU’s Flash if James Gunn asked him to do it, but I'd have thought he'd want to take on another role beyond Barry Allen just so he wouldn't need to retread familiar ground.

It would have made way more sense to see Gustin specifically taking on the Barry Allen role again for a cameo in Ezra Miller's Flash movie, even though that didn't happen amidst all of the other multiversal tie-ins. Not that he would 100% need to play Barry Allen again for James Gunn.

In fact, whenever The Flash does zip into the DCU at whatever point, it's more than likely that Wally West will be the alter ego utilized. So Gustin will either be too old or too white for that gig, depending on what choices are made. But it's certainly possible that he could be cast as Golden Age superhero Jay Garrick for a briefer appearance, if not an Allen-specific cameo. There are plenty of ways to handle it, and that includes possibly casting Gustin as someone from Flash's rogues gallery.

We likely won't see Gustin or The Flash popping up in any upcoming DC TV shows like Peacemaker Season 2 or Lanterns, but I don't think it'll hurt to continue supporting the actor's chances of playing the Scarlet Speedster on the big screen in one form or another. The DCU will kick off in earnest when James Gunn's Superman hits the big screen on July 11, 2025.

It's been two years since The Flash ended, though the show is still discussed in some circles. There are also die-hard fans out there who'd like to see Grant Gustin reprise his role as one of TV's best characters. Of course, I'd love to see the rest of the OG Team Flash return in some way. While not too long ago, a chunk of the cast agreed they'd be up for a movie, it sounds like series veteran Carlos Valdes may still need some convincing.

Valdes' character, Cisco Ramon was written out of The Flash at the end of Season 7, with the actor saying, at the time, that he felt like it was a good stopping point for the character. He recently caught up with People after doing some work on Broadway and, when asked about returning to some sort of revival, admitted he had some "mixed feelings" in regard to whether he wants to reprise his Arrowverse role:

Carlos Valdes spent seven seasons on The Flash, so it's not surprising to hear that he'd have some nostalgic feelings and fond memories that would encourage him to go back. Plus, given he's been on the convention circuit at times, I'm sure he's more than aware Cisco remains a well-loved character by the fans, and many were upset to see Cisco leave the series before the show signed off with Season 9.

The first part of Valdes' statement sounds very positive and seems to give the impression that he would jump at the chance to play the character-- who was also known as the hero Vibe -- again. That said, the Gaslit alum's other sentiments make it sound like he's leaning more towards not returning:

That doesn't sound like someone who's just waiting on an offer to return to The Flash, but it's understandable. The Arrowverse marked a special time for DCTV and, now that Superman and Lois has concluded, that era of programming is officially done. Also, upcoming DC projects either involve the burgeoning DCU continuity or other timelines entirely.

That being said, nostalgia can be powerful and, in an age where fans have seen so many TV shows make comebacks, can we ever fully rule out The Flash having a reunion of some kind? As a fan, I would love to see it happen, if only because it's still a shame that 2023's The Flash didn't even feature a Grant Gustin cameo.

Right now, the odds of the Gustin-led show returning feel so low that it feels silly to even ask Carlos Valdes the question. I would be curious to hear his thoughts if a potential follow-up was actually greenlit or reportedly in discussions, at the very least. Regardless, I'm going to keep my fingers crossed that fans will see these versions of Cisco, Barry Allen and co. again at some point.

Catch episodes of The Flash by streaming them with a Netflix subscription.

Grant Gustin still has a long career in Hollywood ahead of him, but I'm sure he'll still be talking about The Flash for as long as he lives. His iconic CW series helped bring the character more mainstream popularity than ever, though DC failed to reward him for that with a cameo in Ezra Miller's multiversal movie. I might have a chip on my shoulder if I were him, and he seemingly nodded to that slight while addressing the upcoming DC movies under James Gunn's umbrella.

Several beloved cast members from The Flash were on hand at Comic Con Liverpool (via @Flashverse_yt), and Gustin couldn't help but get a little cheeky when he was asked who he felt would be a good choice to eventually play Barry Allen within Gunn's DCU. The actor's lack of a direct answer ended up being better than any straightforward response he could've given. As he put it:

Gustin would sooner talk about The Flash's TV cast getting an Arrowverse movie than he would discuss anything about other Barry Allen incarnations, and I get it. He faced a slew of those questions at every turn during the long period while Miller's Flash movie came together.

Plus, it's funny to see him leaning into the narrative over the years that he's felt he never really got his flowers from DC for his work on The Flash, at least in the same way that colleague Stephen Amell did for his years on Arrow.

Of course, Grant Gustin's snub had to sting a little more, given that his show was used to hype up Ezra Miller's movie with an unexpected cameo from the actor during the Crisis crossover, which is one of TV's most iconic Multiverse projects. With the sheer amount of cameos The Flash movie wedged into its runtime, it was baffling that there wasn't a single scene set up to acknowledge Gustin's DC legacy.

The fact that Grant Gustin can make a tongue-in-cheek joke seemingly referencing all that drama, however, makes me feel like he's not too worried about whether he's involved in the future of The Flash or not. That said, the actor has gone on the record and said that if James Gunn were to ask him to play the hero again, he'd do it.

Meanwhile, there has been a fan casting circulating the web, with some hoping Glen Powell would portray the speedster. Ultimately, James Gunn went with a relative newcomer in David Corwenswet for his Superman, so I don't think it's too wild to speculate he may do the same for whoever becomes his Barry Allen. Maybe Gustin can get a cameo as another character in the DCU, or play a younger version of Barry's father on the fateful night his mother died?

Those with a Netflix subscription can now enjoy Grant Gustin's time in The Flash and revisit some of his best adventures as the DC superhero. CinemaBlend is also keeping an eye on updates for James Gunn's DC universe, and is ready for the premiere of Superman this summer.

Before Glen Powell gained worldwide recognition in movies like Top Gun: Maverick, Anyone But You and Hit Man, he was able to score some superhero media cred when he played Trader #1 in The Dark Knight Rises. But now that Powell is such a hot talent in Hollywood, he’s perfectly primed to be cast in a lead role for one of the upcoming DC movies or upcoming DC TV shows. That said, I need to talk about the fan art envisioning him as The Flash for the DC Universe, as that’s not the character I had in mind for him.

I’ll start off by saying that the artwork itself, created by John Regan and shared on Instagram, does not look bad whatsoever, and it certainly showcases that Powell has the right kind of look for playing a superhero. See for yourself:

Here’s the thing: I’m not keen on Glen Powell playing The Flash in the DC Universe, the successor shared continuity to the DCEU. I’m sure he’d do a capable job bringing the Scarlet Speedster to life, whether it’s Barry Allen or Wally West (the two most likeliest candidates ), but I almost feel like he’s too big for the role. That’s not to say whomever is cast as Flash in the DCU has to have the same kind of physique that Grant Gustin and Ezra Miller did when they were playing the character, I just don’t think Powell would be the right fit to don the red and yellow costume.

So who should Powell play in the DCU? Well, last May, the actor said he’d “have a wild take on Batman,” and a few months later, fans started buzzing about the prospect of Powell putting on the cape and cowl due to a combination of him following various DC talent on social media, including Andy Muschietti, who’s directing the Batman-centric flick The Brave and the Bold. However, I don’t think that Powell would be a good fit for Gotham City’s Caped Crusader either, as I’m not sure he could bring the right kind of darkness for the role.

Had the Green Lantern-focused Lanterns opted to go with someone younger than Kyle Chandler to play Hal Jordan, I would’ve picked Glen Powell to play him. A commenter on the Flash fan art post also noted that Powell could be great as Oliver Queen, a.k.a Green Arrow. I’d be game for seeing that, especially since Charlie Hunnam has said he has no interest in the role.

Frankly though, if I had to pick right now, I’d slot in Powell to play Booster Gold, who has his own TV show lined up. With DC Studios head James Gunn having already shut down the rumor that Kumail Nanjiani has been cast as Booster, I can easily envision Powell playing the superhero from centuries in the future who was a star quarterback, disgraced and then traveled back to the present day to achieve fame and wealth as a superhero. Glen Powell could easily nail Booster Gold’s humorous and glory-seeking personality, and since the series would presumably only deliver eight episodes a season, that would still leave some time for him to pursue other projects.

So my fingers are crossed that becomes a reality, but regardless, if the actor is announced someday to be joining the DCU, count on CinemaBlend to share that news.

2023 was a momentous year for the DC Comics superhero The Flash. First, the same-named, Grant Gustin-led TV series ended after nine seasons, and then a month later, Ezra Miller finally got to take center stage as Barry Allen in the also-same-named movie following his appearances in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Suicide Squad and both cuts of Justice League (you can stream those DC movies in order with a Max subscription). It’s now been a little over a year and a half since The Flash movie played in theaters, and Tom Cavanagh, who played Eobard Thawne, a.k.a. Reverse-Flash, on the TV series, shared what he thought was a “good call” for making Miller’s Barry stand out from Gustin’s.

During a Q&A and FAN Expo Portland (via MrHistorican), Cavanagh, who also played multiple versions of Harrison Wells over the course of nine seasons, shared that he’s seen The Flash movie, unlike his former co-star Danielle Panabaker, who was seated next to him. He had mostly positive things to say about the flick, particularly concerning Miller’s performance, starting with the following:

While saying that Ezra Miller’s Barry isn’t as intelligent as Grant Gustin’s Barry might sound like a criticism at first, Tom Cavanagh found it a refreshing creative choice. Although frankly, Gustin’s Barry wasn’t all that different when he started out as the Scarlet Speedster in the early Arrowverse days. While Miller’s Barry has also been fighting crime for a long time when The Flash movie begins, he’s not nearly as experienced as his TV counterpart. (Side note, let’s not forget that these two briefly spent some time with each other during the “Crisis on Infinite Earths” crossover in early 2020.)

So ultimately, Cavanagh saw this characterization tweak as the right move for the DCEU’s Barry Allen. He continued to share his thoughts about The Flash movie thusly:

Although he didn’t outright state it, it sounds like he didn’t find the second half of The Flash nearly as strong as the first half. That includes his indirect mention of the climactic multiverse sequence packed with DC cameos, which was one of the reasons the movie’s CGI was criticized. Tom Cavanagh’s also correct that The Flash’s marketing leaned heavily on Michael Keaton’s Batman, which was surely a combination of Batman’s inherent popularity, how big a deal Keaton’s return to the cape and cowl was, and to draw attention away from the numerous controversies surrounding Miller, who didn’t participate in the movie’s press tour. In any case, Cavanagh largely enjoyed watching The Flash movie, though he’s obviously going to be biased when it comes to his all-time favorite adaptation of the Scarlet Speedster’s lore.

There are no plans for Ezra Miller to reprise The Flash in upcoming DC movies, but given how popular this character is, I find it hard to believe that another actor won’t be selected to inhabit the role in this new DC Universe franchise. As for Tom Cavanagh, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that he got to leave one final mark on the Arrowverse when he played Gordon Godfrey in Superman & Lois’ final season, which can now be streamed on Max.

In some ways, it’s hard to believe that in just a matter of months, The Flash will turn two years old. Andy Muschietti’s superhero spectacle raced into theaters during the summer of 2023 and was met with mostly mixed reactions. Ultimately, the DCEU film didn’t make much of a dent at the box office and was considered by analysts to be a misfire on Warner Bros.’ part. Now, ahead of his new upcoming DC movie, Muschietti is reflecting on the film’s performance and, with that, he shared an honest take on why the film flopped (and it's not about those infamous CGI babies).

The It filmmaker spoke to Radio TU, during which he discussed a myriad of topics. Eventually, talk turned to his aforementioned comic book movie. The filmmaker explained that a film with a $200 budget from a major studio needs to have wide appeal, even to the point of one being able to bring their grandmother to the theater to see it. As for why the movie seemingly didn’t strike a chord, the Argentina-born director (as translated by Flash Legacy Brasil) pointed to a supposed lack of interest in the character amongst certain demographics:

When it comes to the massive pantheon of comic book heroes, the Flash – in this case, the Barry Allen iteration of the character – sits in an interesting position. Allen is beloved amongst comic book fans and has been featured in various forms of media over the years. That includes The CW’s Arrowverse series, which ran for a whopping nine seasons. On the other hand, there may indeed be a number of people who aren’t interested in the Scarlet Speedster. Regardless of where you stand on the comments Andy Muschietti shared in the YouTube stream, one should acknowledge the other factors surrounding his film.

One particularly significant detail that hovered over the film ahead of its release was the fact that lead actor Ezra Miller was ensnared in a number of legal issues between 2020 and 2022. Among the issues were a reported choking incident, an instance of felony burglary and alleged grooming, of which a legal complaint was recently dropped. Before Flash was even released, there was much speculation that Miller’s issues could sink the film. Whether it indeed did that is debatable, though it could be argued that it’s worth considering.

Also, Andy Muschietti’s movie arrived near the end of the DC Extended Universe’s lifespan, at which point other films in the franchise underperformed as well. 2022 saw Dwayne Johnson’s Black Adam have a lukewarm box office debut. And, while it outgrossed some other DC movies of the time, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom’s BO intake was somewhat meager, in the long run, as well. I’d argue that fatigue with the DCEU and the knowledge of the now-in-effect DCU continuity may have contributed to a lack of interest in these titles.

Speaking of the DCU, it still appears as though Andy Muschietti is planning to bring his talents to a title in that franchise. He’s been attached to the Batman-centric film The Brave and the Bold, which may not be with us for a little while. Muschietti recently shared an update with Radio TU, saying that he hadn’t spoken to DC Studios Co-President James Gunn since he started filming his superhero movie. Whenever the Mama director truly does get started, I’d wager that he’ll utilize what he’s learned from his experiences with The Flash.

You can still stream The Flash now using a Max subscription.

While Grant Gustin made his first big splash on TV when he recurred as Sebastian Smythe on Glee, it was playing Barry Allen, a.k.a. The Flash, that catapulted him to worldwide fame. After guest-starring in two Arrow Season 2 episodes, Gustin took center stage for The Flash TV series in fall 2014, which ended up airing for nine seasons on The CW (and I covered it for the entirety of that time). Looking back on this time of his life, Gustin admitted he was always confident that the Arrow spinoff would have a long and “popular” run (pun intended), but co-star Jesse L. Martin, who played Joe West, wasn’t so sure in the beginning.

Gustin recently went on the The Sackhoff Show to chat with host Katee Sackhoff, who played Amunet Black in a handful of The Flash episodes. When the Battlestar Galactica and The Mandalorian actress brought up how Gustin couldn’t have known he’d end up leading The Flash for nine seasons, the Barry Allen actor acknowledged that was true, but then explained:

On the one hand, I can see where Jesse L. Martin was coming from as an experienced TV actor. At the point in his career he was arguably best known on the small screen for playing Detective Ed Green in Law & Order, a role he inhabited for nearly 200 episodes. On the other hand, The Flash was also several years removed from Martin’s stints on the NBC shows The Philanthropist, which only lasted one eight-episode season, and Smash, which was cancelled after two seasons. He knew how hard it was for shows to get renewed once, let alone last multiple seasons, so he wanted Grant Gustin to manage his expectations accordingly.

Gustin may have been naive, but he ultimately under-predicted The Flash’s level of success. At 184 episodes across nine seasons, it was the longest-running Arrowverse show, as Arrow concluded after eight seasons of 170 episodes. He also made a good point that The Flash is a more well-known character than Green Arrow, which is even more true today thanks to Ezra Miller having also portrayed the Scarlet Speedster in the DCEU. As such, there was more material to work with and stood a slightly better shot of hooking viewers.

So Grant Gustin got to spend close to a full decade bringing Barry Allen to life, and earlier this year, he admitted that if James Gunn asked him to reprise Flash in the DC Universe, he’d accept that offer. Should that day come, we’ll let you know. Until then, The Flash can be streamed alongside Arrow and many of the other Arrowverse shows with a Netflix subscription.

The superhero genre continues to be wildly popular, although it's constantly going through changes. Case in point: the DCEU ended with Aquaman 2, and co-CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran are creating a new shared universe. While we wait for the first phase Gods and Monsters, stories are still coming out about the previous universe. Case in point: Shawn Levy finally broke his silence on nearly directing the Flash movie. 

The Flash (which can be streamed with a Max subscription) was directed by Andy Muschietti, but it went through a number of other filmmakers. Per a conversation with EW, Shawn Levy got close to taking the job for "a brief moment in time," but that didn't' come to fruition. He explained why hasn't taken superhero movies before, saying:

Shots fired. I guess the story offered to him with The Flash wasn't enough to get Shawn Levy to sign on the dotted line. Although The Flash's reviews ended up being positive despite its long journey to theaters.

It makes sense that Levy is offered all types of IP projects given his previous work. Specifically, his acclaimed contributions to Stranger Things (which can be streamed with a Netflix subscription), as well as his genre movies Free Guy and The Adam Project.

The Flash lost a number of directors during its time in development hell, although Andy Muschietti might have ultimately been the right man for the job. The movie felt like it was ripped straight from the comics, with bright colors, wild spectacles, as well as the inclusion of multiple Batmen. While The Flash's CGI took some heat upon its release, it was a fun ride made possible in no small part by Muschietti himself. 

While Shawn Levy (understandably) has been rejecting offers to join major IPs, he's finally doing just. What we know about Deadpool & Wolverine is limited, but it looks like it's going to be a delightfully bonkers romp. Not only will fans get to see Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman's faux feud play out on the big screen, but that chemistry is also shared by Levy himself. He's very close with both Reynolds and Jackman, and they seemingly had a ton of fun both on set and during the post production process. 

It should be interesting to see if Levy ends up doing more work on major IPs after Deadpool 3, or if he puts that behind him for a while. With Stranger Things' final season filming now, his schedule could be freed up for more work in the MCU. 

Deadpool & Wolverine will hit theaters on July 26th. For now, check the 2025 movie release dates.  

Today is April 25, 2024, and for fans of The CW’s The Flash, a show I’d covered since the start of my CinemaBlend career, that date holds importance. At the end of the DC TV show’s first episode, which aired on October 7, 2014, Tom Cavanagh’s Harrison Wells, later revealed to Eobard Thawne/Reverse-Flash, pulled up a holographic display of the front page of The Central City Citizen, with the main headline reading, “FLASH MISSING VANISHES IN CRISIS,” as seen above. Not only was this our first indication that Wells was not all he appeared to be, but it teased that The Flash intended to adapt the “Crisis on Infinite Earths” storyline someday. And while the article byline later changed from Evan Gibson to Iris West-Allen, the 2024 date stuck for several years.

Then came The Flash Season 5 finale, when, after Cicada’s dagger was destroyed and the original version of Nora West-Allen was erased from the timeline, the Crisis date was moved up to December 10, 2019. Sure enough, The CW kicked off the five-part “Crisis on Infinite Earths” in early December 2019, and the event wrapped up in mid-January 2020. While I understand the various reasons why it was necessary for the Anti-Monitor Crisis to happen earlier than initially teased, there is one big reason I wish the original Crisis date had stuck that’s specifically tied to Grant Gustin’s Barry Allen, one of the Arrowverse’s most important superheroes.

It Would’ve Been Great To Meet A More Experienced Barry Allen

When that newspaper headline was shown at the end of “Pilot,” it was the audience’s first indication that Barry Allen had a bright future ahead of him as a superhero. We only just watched him make his debut as the Scarlet Speedster and defeat Clyde Mardon, the first Weather Wizard, but within a decade’s time, the denizens of Central City would know him well, meaning his disappearance during an apocalyptic event where the skies turned red would obviously make front page news. Well, sometimes I wish we’d gotten to see this version of Barry in action… or rather, one close to him.

Because Eobard Thawne arranged for Central City’s partial accelerator to be built seven years earlier, there was no way this exact version of Barry Allen would ever appear since he didn’t gain his super speed until 2020. However, even after the accelerator exploded in 2013 instead, Thawne’s newspaper headline remained the same, meaning Barry was still on track to disappear in 2024. Now, however, he’d have an entire decade of superhero experience under his belt rather than just four years, and it would have been great to meet this Barry.

When the revised Anti-Monitor Crisis happened, Barry had been The Flash for roughly five years, so it’s not like he was an inexperienced superhero. Still, I would’ve been delighted to see how a Barry Allen we’d been watching on TV for 10 years would have handled the Crisis. It also would have allowed to show to fully cyclical, as this Barry would finally disappear, as promised in 2014, and then we’d hopefully get to see what happened to him in the aftermath.

Why The The Original Crisis Wouldn’t Have Worked

But as mentioned earlier, I get why the Anti-Monitor Crisis couldn’t happen on April 25, 2024. For one thing, The Flash learned heavily on time travel throughout its run, so eventually there was going to come a time where the Crisis date would have needed to be changed, even if ever so slightly. Perhaps more importantly though, there wouldn’t have been any way to guarantee The Flash could hit ten seasons. Ultimately the show came to an end last year after nine seasons. Imagine how disappointed fans would have been if the show had wrapped up without ever reaching Crisis.

Also keep in mind that by the time The Flash ended, it was the last of the main Arrowverse shows airing. So even if Crisis had shifted to 2023 instead, there’s no way this could have been a multi-show crossover, and would have needed to be strictly confined to The Flash. While part of me is intrigued by how that would have looked, especially if it would have comprised the show’s final episodes, I think what we ended up getting was better.

Besides, even though the Crisis unfolded differently in the revised Arrowverse timeline, there was still a great way that The Flash delivered a full circle moment before its conclusion. It’s generally understood that in the show’s original timeline, Barry disappeared from the Anti-Monitor Crisis because he was chasing Reverse-Flash back to the year 2000, when the yellow-garbed speedster intended to kill Barry as a child in the hopes that his nemesis would never become Flash. While the circumstances behind how he ended up in 2000 changed, fans still got to see the “main” Barry prevent his adolescent self from being murdered and then wave off his Season 1 self from stopping Nora’s death, as seen below.

We’ll never know the fate of the future Barry Allen who fought in the 2024 Crisis, nor will we learn what specifically unfolded in that original Crisis beyond the few tidbits seen from the newspaper. Still, while some may think that “Crisis on Infinite Earths” ruined the Arrowverse, I liked the majority of it and am certainly glad we got it at all versus never getting to the Crisis at all. Still, now that we’ve hit April 25, 2024, I’m reminded about how cool it would’ve been to see what originally happened to Barry on this date, but alas, it’ll just continue being left up to the imagination.

All nine seasons of The Flash can be streamed with a Netflix subscription, and Grant Gustin has said he’d be game to reprise Barry Allen if James Gunn, the head of DC Studios, asked him to do it. If that happens, we’ll let you know, but until then, learn what’s ahead for this corner of the superhero media market with our upcoming DC movies and upcoming DC TV shows guides.

In 2023, The Flash finished its nine-season run on The CW, and with it came the official end of the main Arrowverse continuity. Now that his time as Barry Allen is over, Grant Gustin is currently keeping busy with his dream gig on Broadway, but he did recently say he’d be game to reprise the Scarlet Speedster if DC Studios co-head James Gunn asked him to do so for the DC Universe. Tom Cavanagh, who performed opposite Gustin in The Flash, knows fans want his co-star to don the red suit again in either an upcoming DC movie or upcoming DC TV show, but he has a better idea: bring him back as Reverse-Flash!

Along with playing multiple versions of Harrison Wells, Cavanagh memorably played Eobard Thawne, a.k.a. Reverse-Flash, across the entirety of The Flash, specifically the older Eobard who disguised himself as Earth-1’s Wells. Despite the TV show ending, Cavanagh isn’t ready to hang up his yellow suit just yet, as he said the following at Toronto Comic-Con (via TomCavanaghFans) when a fan asked him if he’d want to keep playing Reverse-Flash:

That job Tom Cavanagh’s referring to is, as indicated earlier, Gustin playing Jacob Jankowski in Water for Elephants, based on the same-named 2006 novel by Sara Gruen which was previously adapted into a 2011 movie starring Robert Pattinson and Reese Witherspoon. The Broadway production has now opened following previews that began on February 24, so we can presumably expect Gustin to be sticking around the stage for a while. Taking that into account, Cavanagh thinks James Gunn’s energy would be better spent recruiting him back for another round as Reverse-Flash on the DC Universe Chapter One slate.

To be fair, although the DC Universe is a new shared continuity, there are a few familiar faces from the DCEU who are sticking around, including John Cena’s Peacemaker, Viola Davis’ Amanda Waller and Xolo Maridueña’s Blue Beetle. So it wouldn’t be entirely weird for James Gunn to have someone from the Arrowverse reprise their role in this franchise; why not have it be Tom Cavanagh? Now granted, he almost certainly wouldn’t play the same Reverse-Flash from the Arrowverse, as that Eobard Thawne met his permanent demise in the Season 8 finale, although he was seen one last time in the series finale when Blue Cobalt plucked him, along with Zoom, Savitar and Godspeed, from different points in history and brought them to the present day.

Still, as much as I’d like to see Tom Cavanagh back as Reverse-Flash, it’s likelier that a new actor will be cast in the role for the DC Universe. Having said that, there’s still no indication of when or even if The Flash will appear in this universe. Ezra Miller did reprise Barry Allen for The Flash movie last year, but there’s been no mention of him returning to the role for the DC Universe. I imagine there will eventually come a time when this hero races across the big screen again, and when that day comes, it’d be great to see him fighting Reverse-Flash, whether it’s Tom Cavanagh’s or someone else’s.

If you’d like to revisit Cavanagh’s time as the antagonistic speedster, all nine seasons of The Flash can be streamed with a Netflix subscription. Otherwise, remember that the DC Universe will get underway later this year when Creature Commandos premieres to Max subscribers, and the Superman reboot will follow on July 11, 2025.

Grant Gustin is hard at work on his dream gig on Broadway with The Flash in his rearview window, but he's still finding time to connect with superhero fans off the stage. A video started circulating online that features the Barry Allen portrayer being asked whether he'd return to play his Arrowverse role now that James Gunn is running DC. The chances for such a thing are naturally slim, but I know exactly what I'd want to see if Gustin jumps back into his ring-encased suit. 

It hasn't even been a full year since The Flash's series finale dropped on The CW, potentially opening the Speed Force door to spinoffs elsewhere, and fans haven't stopped asking Grant Gustin about potentially returning as The Flash in one way or another. His latest response to capture fans' attention (via Arrowverse.Canaries) was specifically to an inquiry about returning for James Gunn's in-development DCU, to which the actor replied with:

Grant Gustin might love the glitz and glamour of Broadway, and may not be inherently enthusiastic about returning to tight, sweaty costumes and green screens, but it seems like there's still a part of him that misses being TV's fastest man alive. That interest could be entirely tied to working on any project with James Gunn, even outside the superhero genre, as I'm sure few actors in Hollywood would pass up that opportunity. But since Gunn is keeping busy with Superman: Legacy, Creature Commandos and more comic book fare, this would be the core way to work with him in the near future. 

Gustin's Barry Deserves Some DC Multiverse Respect

As a fan of both Grant Gustin and the bulk of The Flash's run, I'd love to see his version of Barry Allen get an upgrade within the new DC universe at some point, even if it he's not part of the first wave of Superman: Legacy cast members. It doesn't have to be something massive, although it certainly could be.

On the one hand, I would at least like to see a situation where the Glee alum could reprise his role as Barry in a way that's wholly consistent with the show that brought the character to prominence, even if it's technically an alternate take that isn't canonical with the small screen series. Fans decried him getting snubbed by Andy Muschietti's 2023 film The Flash, especially after the TV show's creative went out of its way to include Ezra Miller for a scene in its "Crisis on Infinite Earths" arc.

Gustin's Barry Can Be The DCU's Cautionary Tale To Avoid Time Travel Plots

In a new DC universe that will be ripe with new stories, Grant Gustin's Barry Allen would be a great veteran to bring in to warn about the dangers of time-meddling. After all, he messed with time more than anyone else in the live-action and was a key person in the massive crossover event "Crisis On Infinite Earths." 

It would be pretty easy to use that as a reason to bring him back into the DCU, as well as a great way to acknowledge everything that happened during the Arrowverse era without totally eradicating everything. Although if Gunn did decide to eliminate that entire block of canon, perhaps Gustin's Barry Allen could be the sole survivor of that timeline, serving as a warning against messing with time travel in any capacity. 

The idea of Grant Gustin collaborating with James Gunn in DC is an interesting one, as we don't know what the status is of the Arrowverse in this brave new direction for the franchise. The Arrowverse will officially die with the conclusion of Superman & Lois, but it could always exist in another world in the multiverse. 

Those with a Netflix subscription can check out Grant Gustin in The Flash. There are plenty of great episodes worth checking out, and all of them show in their own way that he's owed some sort of acknowledgment by the greater DC properties for his contributions, even if that acknowledgment never comes. 

Back in 2017, a few years ahead of her getting to play Bo-Katan Kryze in The Mandalorian after having previously voiced the character in Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels, Katee Sackhoff kicked off her stint on The CW’s The Flash as Amunet Black, a metahuman crime boss. The Battlestar Galactica alum recurred across Season 4, and along with her unique ability to magnetically manipulate anything made of alnico alloy, the character was notable for her ridiculously exaggerated English accent. Well, Sackhoff has revealed she got some pushback over her accent while working on the DC TV show, which left her feeling “terrified.”

The actress reflected on her experience working on The Flash in an episode of the Blah Blah Blah with Katee Sackoff podcast while interviewing Danielle Panabaker, who appeared on the show for the entirety of its run playing Caitlin Snow, Frost and Khione. When Panabaker mentioned that Season 4 was “challenging” for everyone on The Flash because a showrunner she didn’t name was “let go”  roughly halfway through the season (she was referring to Andrew Kreisberg, who was fired following a sexual harassment investigation), Sackhoff mentioned that this impacted too, saying:

Danielle Panabaker then noted how Katee Sackhoff’s experience was an example of how there was a “disconnect” between The Flash’s writers room and “everyone in LA,” i.e. the studio and the network, and what was actually getting communicated to them “on the ground in Vancouver.” She believes The Flash would have benefitted from having an executive producer acting like “a leader” who spearheaded setting a tone. This also would have allowed the cast and crew to avoid incidents like what Sackhoff went through, where there was clearly a breakdown in communication over what was expected from her.

Fortunately for Katee Sackhoff, there wasn’t any further pushback over her playing Amunet Black with an English accent, and when she asked Danielle Panabaker if that performance choice made her ask “What the fuck is she doing?”, Panabaker said no because a show like that lent itself to people coming in to play “ridiculous” characters. In her mind, The Flash benefitted from this and allowed the series regulars to be “really grounded.” Following Season 4, Sackhoff only reprised Amunet Black once, in the Season 6 episode “Love is a Battlefield,” and for some reason she was not asked back for the final season. However, the character was mentioned a handful of other times, usually in reference to her relationship with Damon Poitier’s Goldface.

If you’re now in the mood to revisit The Flash, its nine seasons can still be streamed with a Netflix subscription. As for Katee Sackhoff, you’ll need a Disney+ subscription to see what The Mandalorian Season 3 put Bo-Katan through, and it remains to be seen if she’ll appear in the recently-announced movie The Mandalorian & Grogu.

In another reality, Nicolas Cage would have gotten to play Superman in the late ‘90s, but in our reality, the Tim Burton-directed Superman Lives ended up being shelved shortly before production was set to begin. However, last year audiences got a taste of what could have been when a de-aged Cage appeared as the Man of Steel in The Flash, just one of the movie’s many big cameos. In recent months though, Cage has directed criticism at how his Superman cameo was shot, but now he’s clarified his feelings on the matter, noting that it boiled down to him feeling “perplexed.”

This came about during an interview with Deadline when Cage said that he “wasn’t angry” about Superman Lives being scrapped over 25 years ago, but rather “confused” because it would be helped by Burton, who’d already shown off his superhero movie chops with Batman and Batman Returns, which both featured Michael Keaton wearing the cape and cowl. Then on the subject of The Flash, the actor stated:

For those who missed out on Nicolas Cage’s earlier Flash-related comments, he shared that when he came in to shoot his cameo, all he was “supposed to do was literally just be standing in an alternate dimension, if you will, and witnessing the destruction of the universe,” and without saying any lines. He had no idea his Superman would be fighting a giant spider, referencing the action set piece that was going to be included in Superman Lives. So when he sat down to watch The Flash, he was surprised to see his character doing that.

Although Nicolas Cage later said that he wished there’d simply been full transparency regarding what his Superman appearance entailed, he went on to say in this new interview that he did like getting to see his version of Superman finally brought to life, although his de-aged self didn’t look convincing enough to him. As he put it:

The Flash actually marked Cage’s second brief Superman outing, as he previously voiced the character in 2018’s Teen Titans Go! to the Movies. Although Superman Lives never got made, a documentary called The Death of "Superman Lives": What Happened? was released in 2015 that explored the doomed production, though Cage was not among the subjects interviewed. As for what the future holds in store for Superman on the big screen, David Corenswet has been selected to play the character in Superman: Legacy, which will be the first movie in the new DC Universe franchise.

Those wishing to revisit The Flash can do so by streaming it with a Max subscription. Nicolas Cage’s latest movie, Dream Scenario, can be purchased or rented on digital platforms, and his offerings on the 2024 movies schedule include Longlegs, Arcadian and The Surfer.

Tons of celebrating went on throughout the entirety of January 1, 2024, and not just because of the change in year. It was a huge day for college sports, thanks largely to the NCAA’s College Football Playoff games, but viewers ended up getting a bit more than they bargained for when one ESPN cameraman unwittingly captured a random woman flashing her breasts down the streets of New Orleans. Following the uncensored footage making it to air, the network released a statement.

Understandably, ESPN execs weren’t eager to celebrate kicking off 2024 with that kind of R-rated moment airing during one of the biggest college football telecasts of the year. The network’s senior director of communications, Bill Hofheimer, shared the following statement, according to the Associated Press:

The potentially offending moment took place in the second half of the Sugar Bowl, which featured the Washington Huskies taking on the Texas Longhorns in the second playoff double-header. Following a commercial break, viewers were shown footage of people wandering the streets of New Orleans, many with drinks in hand. 

In the middle of the clip, which features several people looking upward to those standing in the balconies down NOLA’s Bourbon St., a woman can be seen pulling her shirt down and exposing her breasts, with the assumption being that she was aiming to have Mardi Gras beads thrown down. (Quite a different experience than Mardi Gras at Universal Orlando.)

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To the shock of exactly no one, social media lit up after the moment transpired, with quite a few viewers expressing everything from chaotic glee to befuddled surprise to to light chiding. Although many were just flat out questioning if what they'd just seen actually happened. 

The tweet below essentially sums up a large chunk of the percentage of posts about the eye-catching live TV moment:

Not that people didn't also have jokes and various other amusing comments to make, with most of the jabbing going in ESPN's direction, thankfully, without an abundance of people aiming to shame the woman. 

• everyone except the espn director saw that woman getting ready to flash her tits from like a mile away lmao - @JordanFreiman
• Ummmm what’s a little titty flash in the French quarter on !!! #sugarbowl @espn - @ladikara
• @espn I will never be able to unsee that accidental flash that just aired. #SugarBowl - @CO4runnr
• Nice job on the commercial break getting the boob flash ESPN…. lol #TEXvsUW - @walkerthunder

Gotta love that there was even a post already awaiting any form of backlash against the reasoning behind the flash, as seen in the tweet below. 

After this many years of the Sugar Bowl being held in New Orleans, not to mention all the New Orleans Saints games that have aired on ESPN and other networks, one would think it'd be second nature for camera crews to allow for a slight delay in footage being transmitted, so that bare-breast incidents and beyond can be caught before they pop up before millions of eyeballs. But that would just take away from the unpredictable nature of live TV, where Stanley Cup celebrations have been interrupted by flashing, with live news reports also occasionally interrupted by nudity. 

With presumably a plan in place to avoid any and all chances of naked boobs, ESPN will air the 2024 CFP National Championship on Monday, January 8, at 7:30 p.m. ET, with the Washington Huskies taking on the Michigan Wolverines.

Along with Michael Keaton’s Batman and Sasha Calle’s Supergirl being important players in The Flash, the 2023 movie release delivered some major DC multiverse cameos during its climax. One of them was Nicolas Cage’s Superman, giving audiences an idea of what could have been had the Tim Burton-directed Superman Lives moved forward in the late 1990s. However, shortly after The Flash came out, Cage shared a big issue he had about his cameo, and earlier this month, he revealed that when he shot that scene, he had no idea that it involved a giant spider. The actor has since elaborated on his experience shooting that cameo, and I can see where he’s coming from with this criticism.

While Cage was being interviewed by WIRED about his new movie Dream Scenario, the actor’s cameo in The Flash was brought up, as well as the fact that he’s previously said that the use of artificial intelligence in Hollywood is “inhumane.” The interviewer asked where now stands with how his likeness can be used and where he draws the line when it comes to, “OK, you can CGI me if we’ve made an agreement, but please don’t make a whole movie starring Nicolas Cage that I know nothing about.” Cage responded:

For those who haven’t seen The Flash, after he was done fighting that giant spider (referencing a battle that would have been seen in Superman Lives), Nicolas Cage’s Superman was shown watching the multiverse implode. As Cage previously stated, he was not told about the giant spider when he came to The Flash for “maybe three hours” to shoot that cameo. All he was told was that his version of the Man of Steel was “bearing witness [to] the end of a universe,” and since he wasn’t given any dialogue, he had to convey emotion using only his eyes.

While Cage isn’t sure whether AI was applied to his Superman appearance or not (it definitely was for the George Reeves and Christopher Reeve versions of Superman since those actors are long gone), I get what he’s saying about transparency. If Cage is going to consent to his digital likeness being used, and especially if his appearance is being tweaked for something he actually acted in like The Flash, he wants disclosure about what his appearance will entail. Once he has that information, then he can make an informed decision about whether or not he wants to be involved, be it directly or indirectly. He also clarified later in the interview that he doesn’t want “anyone to do anything” with his likeness after he’s gone,” and whoever is in charge of his estate will “make sure of that.”

Along with Nicolas Cage’s expressing further criticism about his Superman appearance (his second time playing the character, the first being Teen Titans Go! to the Movies), Tim Burton has shared his dissatisfaction with The Flash’s use of AI, and he’s in “quiet revolt” against the studios using this technology. You can watch/revisit The Flash with a Max subscription while going through the DC movies in order, while Nicolas Cage’s performance in Dream Scenario can currently be seen in limited theatrical showings, with the wide release happening on December 1.

It’s been just over four months since the Scarlet Speedster took his last run on The CW, but that isn’t stopping people from talking about Grant Gustin and The Flash. The actor has become a fan-favorite among DC fans due to his portrayal of the beloved superhero. Some were even hoping that he would appear in The Flash movie alongside Ezra Miller, which unfortunately did not happen. However, Gustin’s role as Barry Allen and his place in DC is still talked about, and one fan proved that by reimagining the small-screen hero with the blonde locks his comic book counterpart had. 

Fans of The Flash comics know that Barry Allen has blonde hair, as opposed to Gustin’s brown hair. However, that wasn't an issue for them because the Glee alum was loved by many, even though his hair wasn't comic book-accurate. Fans won’t have to wonder anymore what he would look like with blonde hair though, because buffy2ville on Instagram used AI to show it off, and it actually looks pretty good:

AI technology can do some incredible and freaky things, and sometimes at the same time. Of course, Grant Gustin looks great as is, and he was a pretty great Flash. However, seeing that blonde hair makes me wish there was a scene in Flashpoint where Barry was blonde. That way, fans could have it both ways. Maybe if he ever makes a return as The Flash, he could look a bit different. Though I do have to admit, the brown just fits Gustin a little bit more.

Coincidentally, this isn’t the first time Gustin and his locks have been making waves, whether real or not. Back in August, he rocked the signature Superman curl. Even though there were a lot of actors who almost played Superman, it’s hard to not imagine him playing the Man of Steel after seeing this photo. That would have made for an interesting plot, maybe like “Elseworlds.” The Arrowverse crossover saw Barry and Oliver switch lives at one point, and it was amusing to see Gustin as Green Arrow and Stephen Amell as The Flash. If only one happened that involved Barry becoming Superman, however, The Flash fits him more, even if the hair may be a bit different. 

Even though Gustin didn’t appear in Ezra Miller’s The Flash, that doesn’t necessarily count him out of the DCEU. Miller’s Barry Allen did appear on The CW in the “Crisis” crossover, so there’s always the possibility the two universes could be interconnected.

The actor previously opened up about why he decided to end The Flash, saying that he wanted to spend more time with his family and his young daughter. That doesn’t mean he’s permanently walking away from the role though. Maybe in time, fans will see him return, and maybe even with comic-accurate hair.

While we may never get a blonde Grant Gustin as The Flash, what you can see is him in all nine seasons of The Flash. All you need is a Netflix subscription.

The comic book genre has been dominating the entertainment industry for years now. But there are a few heroes who stand out as fan favorites, and for DC that's definitely Batman. The Caped Crusader has been adapted for film countless times throughout the years, most recently appearing in Andy Muschietti's The Flash. And to celebrate Batman Day, the filmmaker shared BTS images from his trio of Bruce Waynes. Let's break it all down.

Andy Muschietti shocked audiences when his recent DC movie not only included Ben Affleck and Michael Keaton's Batman, but the ending of The Flash also brought back George Clooney as Bruce Wayne. The IT filmmaker recently posted some images from the set on Instagram to celebrate Batman Day, and they're pretty striking set photos. Case in point, the following shot with Keaton.

I mean, how cool is that? Michael Keaton is the OG big screen Batman, and you can't deny how awesome he looks in the cape and cowl. Fans were hyped when Keaton reprised his role in The Flash, in addition to his role in the scrapped Batgirl movie. But  it's currently unclear if he'll ever get the chance to play Gotham's protector again.

Of course, Keaton wasn't the only version of Batman to appear during The Flash's runtime. While he was the Caped Crusader in the alternate universe Barry Allen accidentally creates, Ben Affleck was also featured as Bruce Wayne. Muschietti posted a shot of him BTS, check it out below:

While the trailer The Flash confirmed those two versions of Batman, moviegoers were shocked when a third Bruce Wayne popped during its final moments. Because after Barry tried to set the multiverse right by undoing his choice to save his mother, it turns out things didn't really go back to normal. Because George Clooney's Bruce Wayne appears in a truly wild cliffhanger.

Andy Muschietti did the impossible by getting Clooney to pay Batman considering how often he's poked fun at his work on Batman & Robin. Check out a shot of them collaborating on set below:

While this cliffhanger ending for The Flash was mind blowing, it's unclear if we'll ever get any answers or see this story continued. Andy Muschietti's movie was a box office disappointment, and star Ezra Miller was involved in a number of controversies. Add in James Gunn becoming new co-CEO of the DCU and crafting a new vision for the shared universe, and it seems unlikely that we might get a second Flash movie. Only time will tell. But given how wild it was that George Clooney played Batman again, I'm hoping we get a bit more from this plot point. 

The Flash is streaming now on Max. Be sure to check out the 2023 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience. 

Few movies in recent years have been a source of controversy quite like Andy Muschietti's The Flash. From Ezra Miller's escalating legal issues prior to the film's release, to its disappointing box office performance when it hit theaters this summer, the title's big picture legacy is in rough shape... and things are not improving now that director Tim Burton has shared his thoughts about the DC blockbuster featuring Nicolas Cage's Superman in its third act.

Back in the 1990s, Burton was attached to direct Superman Lives starring Cage (a movie that never made it to production) and the filmmaker was recently asked by the British Film Institute about The Flash's homage to that notorious project. Despite the fact that the 2023 blockbuster actually got Nicolas Cage to shoot his cameo personally while wearing a suit created by the original costume designer (per an interview with Andy Muschietti on The Discourse podcast), Burton suggested that the blockbuster surprise is a negative result of artificial intelligence and misappropriation that has impacted his overall relationship with the studio system. Said the filmmaker,

Nicolas Cage's Superman briefly appears in the third act of The Flash when the titular hero and his double from an alternate timeline nearly manage to destroy the multiverse. As Flash attempts to use time travel to fix his past mistakes, worlds begin to collide, and one of the worlds that we briefly get to look into is meant to be the world of Superman Lives. In contrast to Tim Burton's thoughts, Cage has seen the The Flash cameo and called his Superman appearance "satisfying."

As chronicled in the documentary The Death of "Superman Lives": What Happened?, the would-be blockbuster got incredibly close to being made in the mid-1990s, but Warner Bros. decided to put the project on hold as it was gearing up for production and then shut the whole thing down. Looking back on the experience, Tim Burton says that he doesn't have regrets, but his feelings about it are still strong because of the energy and emotional investment that he had put in. Said Burton,

If you haven't seen the film or are curious about watching it again, The Flash is now available to stream if you have a Max subscription. For physical media collectors, the movie is also available to purchase on 4K UHD and Blu-ray.

The DC Universe is known for keeping fans of their toes, thanks to twists on and off screen. Andy Muschietti’s The Flash movie was no exception, with the multiversal story having a ton of surprise cameos throughout its runtime. A TikTok user recently edited Robert Pattinson into The Flash, and I’m really kind of digging it. Let's break it all down.

The ending of The Flash was an emotional one, with Barry Allen going back in time and letting his mother die in order to set the timeline straight. But there’s one more twist: rather than Ben Affleck returning as Batman, he’s shocked to see a new Bruce Wayne played by none other than George Clooney. Now a fanmade TikTok imagined another twist, specifically if Robert Pattinson from The Batman popped up in this final scene. Check it out below:

I mean, how cool is that? Matt Reeves’ growing Batman franchise is set in another timeline entirely, following a Dark Knight still young into his crime fighting career. There’s seemingly no plans to combine these worlds, which is no doubt why the above TikTok is being watched by so many DC fans out there. And you’ve got to admit that would have been arguably an even bigger gag for moviegoers than the return of George Clooney as Batman.

Of course, the appearance of Clooney was a shocking twist that no one saw coming. He played the Dark Knight in the campy classic Batman & Robin, and has been open about how much he regretted the movie and all of its Bat-nipples. Although I’m not holding my breath that he’ll appear in another upcoming DC movie, especially since James Gunn and Peter Safran were named co-CEOs and are making so many changes to the franchise. 

Despite these changes, which include dropping Henry Cavil as Superman, it does seem like Matt Reeves’ plans for The Batman are moving forward. His Penguin series is filmed and on the way to Max, and there is presumably a movie sequel on the way as well. The Joker franchise is similarly disconnected to the shared universe, allowing Todd Phillips to take bold narrative swings like making Joker 2 into a musical. 

In the end, the Flash movie was a box office disappointment. Given this fan reaction to the DC movie (which was filmed before the change in leadership), it’s unclear if we’ll ever see more from Ezra Miller’s title character. James Gunn hasn’t revealed his plans for the Scarlet Speedster, so we’ll have to see what’s being planned for the new DCU. 

The next DC movie hitting theaters is Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom on December 20th. In the meantime, check out the 2023 movies release dates to plan your next movie experience. 

The DC Universe is always keeping fans on our toes, thanks to twists behind the scenes as well as on the big screen. The DCU has new leadership with James Gunn and Peter Safran, but a number of movies were filmed before this change occurred. That includes Andy Muschietti’s The Flash, which ended up being a box office disappointment. But the movie’s got a new life via home release, and The Flash recently arrived on Max. It’s bad news for the movie in its first weekend streaming, and I’m sad for Michael Keaton’s Batman.  

The Flash was a wild multiversal ride featuring a whopping three actors playing Bruce Wayne. Chief among them was Michael Keaton, who got his long-awaited return to the cowl. I personally had a great time watching the DC movie, and was hoping it would have a second life on streaming. But Deadline reports that Flash was seen by 1.1M US households during it’s first few days on Max. And that’s a downward trend compared to The Rock’s DC blockbuster Black Adam. 

The numbers pulled by The Flash is down 8% to how Black Adam managed to pull 1.2M U.S. households upon its streaming release back in December. While both movies were box office disappointments, it should be interesting to see how these streaming lives affect any possible future in the new DCU.

As previously mentioned, I actually really enjoyed The Flash when I watched it. And like so many people who watched Tim Burton’s original two Batman movies, I was psyched at seeing Michael Keaton return to the Dark Knight. And I’m really hoping that this isn’t the last time we see his Bruce Wayne come to life. Especially after how things went down with the scrapped Batgirl movie. 

In addition to The Flash, Michael Keaton was also going to play Batman in the Batgirl movie opposite Leslie Grace. But Warner Bros. dropped the movie despite it being nearly completed, and it’s unclear if the public will ever get to see any of the footage. So between The Flash being a flop and Batgirl being dropped, Keaton’s second life as Batman isn’t going as planned. And I’m sure I’m not the only fan who is bummed.

James Gunn and Peter Safran are currently planning the next decade of DC projects, including TV, movies, and even video games. The first phase is titled Gods and Monsters, but the plans for Flash are a mystery. The Brave and The Bold will feature Batman and Robin, but it’s a mystery as to who is playing those heroes. Will we get another Keaton appearance? Only time will tell. 

The next DC movie hitting theaters is Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom on December 20th. In the meantime, check out the 2023 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience. 

Major spoilers ahead for The Flash.

The DC Universe has had plenty of peaks and valleys since it debuted in theaters with Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel. There’s been a bunch of changes in leadership, some bonafide hit movies, as well as a number of box office disappointments. Unfortunately, The Flash is in the later category, although it’s been getting more life via VOD and now that it’s streaming with a Max subscription. I recently re-watched The Flash on Max, and I’m doubly bummed about the handling of Sasha Calle’s Supergirl. Here are my thoughts.

Prior to the release of The Flash, anticipation for the upcoming DC movie was partly due to its ensemble cast of heroes. That included the introduction of Supergirl, played by actress Sasha Calle. This is a character that I’ve been longing to see back on the big screen, and Calle’s casting also made history as a Latina actress in the role. But unfortunately her part left something to be desired for me. Especially because we were forced to watch her die over and over again.

In The Flash, Ezra Miller’s title character accidentally creates a new reality after going back in time and saving his mother from being killed. In this alternate universe Micheal Keaton is Batman, and Kal-El never made it to Earth. But his cousin did, with Supergirl having all the same powers as Henry Cavill’s former superhero. 

It takes a long time for The Flash to finally bring Supergirl into the narrative. And even when she does, she’s a character of few words. So while Sasha Calle was heavily marketed in the movie’s road to theaters, it felt like her role was much smaller than I anticipated– especially where dialogue is concerned.

Still, it was fun to see her kick ass and face Zod and his forces as the Girl of Steel. But after seeing Kara recharge her powers and be at full Kryptonian might, the unthinkable happened: she’s successfully killed by Michael Shannon’s Zod. Barry #2 once again accesses the Speed Force in order to try and save her, and the movie’s third act conflict begins.

During this time we watched a montage of Barry unsuccessfully attempting to go back in time and stop Kara from being murdered; this would also save the Earth from Zod destroying the planet. Supergirl dies over and over again, and it feels downright cruel at one point. Not only was this character not getting the story I thought she would, but we had to watch her being murdered multiple times in quick succession.

And now that James Gunn and Peter Safran are forming a new DCU, it feels like this version of Supergirl might be dead for good. Rather than Sasha Calle joining the shared universe and returning for crossover events, she might be a one hit wonder in the shared universe. After all, a new timeline is being created. Superman: Legacy will feature a new Clark Kent instead of Henry Cavill. So why would Gunn bring in the cousin of that version of Superman? Technically the studio hasn’t revealed its future plans for Kara, but it’s not looking good. Which makes her disappointing role in The Flash an even bigger bummer.

The Flash is streaming now on Max, and the next DC movie hitting theaters is Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom on December 20th. In the meantime, check out the 2023 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience. 

Needless to say that SPOILERS for The Flash are ahead!

Nearly a decade after it was officially announced as part of the DC Extended Universe slate, The Flash finally arrived in theaters earlier this year. While this marked the first opportunity for Ezra Miller’s Barry Allen to be spotlighted as a main protagonist following his appearances in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Suicide Squad and Justice League (both versions), it nonetheless saw various superheroes popping into in the Scarlet Speedster’s movie. Ben Affleck and Michael Keaton’s versions of Batman, as well as Sasha Calle’s Supergirl, were the most prominent of the bunch, but then came the climax, where familiar faces from DC’s past were brought back to the forefront.

With The Flash now being available for Max subscribers to stream, this is a good time to go all the  superheroes who appear in the movie’s momentous Speed Force sequence and ending, and how they fit into the DC multiverse (unfortunately, Grant Gustin’s Flash was not among them). Before going further though, it’s important to mention that this list will not go over characters who were established in the DCEU prior to The Flash, i.e. Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman and Jason Momoa’s Aquaman. While there were a lot of fans pleased to see them back (and the Aquaman cameo in particular could be especially important), we’ve been spending plenty of time with them in recent years.

George Reeves’ Superman

In 1951, 13 years after Superman debuted in the pages of Action Comics #1, George Reeve starred as the Man of Steel in Superman and the Mole Men, the first feature-length movie based on a DC Comics character. The following year, Reeve was brought back to lead Adventures of Superman, the popular TV series that lasted for six seasons, though the actor sadly died a year after it ended. However, his Superman brought back in The Flash to witness the multiverse slowly come apart thanks to Dark Flash’s actions, with the classic line “It’s a bird… it’s a plane… it’s Superman!” Playing as the camera zoomed in on him.

Amusingly, while only the first two seasons of Adventures of Superman were broadcast in black and white, this Superman’s world is depicted in the same monochromatic way. This cameo is especially notable because while Clark Kent/Kal-El was the only powered hero shown in the TV show, The Flash shows that this Earth is also home to a version of Jay Garrick, the first Flash from the comics. The character’s likeness was modeled after editor Jason Ballantine, and I’d like to think that Jay and Clark frequently team up and have perhaps even formed that Earth’s Justice Society of America.

Christopher Reeve’s Superman And Helen Slater’s Supergirl

George Reeves may have been the first actor to be widely recognized for playing Superman on screen, but for a generation of moviegoers, the definitive Man of Steel was Christopher Reeve, who passed away in 2004. Debuting in 1978’s Superman: The Movie, Reeve earned critical acclaim for his performance as the Kryptonian superhero, and reprised him in three more sequels. In 1984, between the release of Superman III and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, Supergirl was released, with Helen Slater playing Kara Zor-El, but never sharing screen time with her Kryptonian cousin.

That finally changed in The Flash, with Supergirl flying over to join Superman in seeing the multiverse come undone and being powerless to stop it. Weirdly, this Superman and Supergirl are depicted as living on separate Earths than the one Michael Keaton’s Batman hails from, despite the fact that last year’s Dark Crisis: The Big Bang stated that they live on the same Earth, Earth-789. However, I don’t fault the filmmakers for not sticking to this piece of continuity, and one could also argue that the Batman Michael Keaton is playing in The Flash isn’t the exact same version he previously played in Batman and Batman Returns since he’s living in an altered version of the DCEU timeline rather than a completely separate reality.

Adam West’s Batman

The Silver Age of Comics was a goofy time for superhero comics, and Batman’s appearances was no exception. So it’s no surprise that the Batman TV series that ran from 1966 to 1968, plus one theatrical movie, depicted Adam West’s title character in a campy light, earning him the nickname “The Bright Knight.” This Batman and Burt Ward’s Robin fought all kinds of wacky villains, and nearly five decades after the show’s conclusion, the two lead actors vocally reprised their roles alongside Julie Newmar as Catwoman for the animated movies Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders and Batman vs. Two-Face, the latter of which was released just a few months after West’s death in June 2017.

Unlike the previously mentioned characters, Adam West’s Batman isn’t shown in The Flash witnessing the multiverse’s destruction, but merely frozen in time. Presumably we’re safe to classify this as Earth-66, the same Earth from the Arrowverse’s “Crisis on Infinite Earths” crossover where Burt Ward’s Dick Grayson was shown exclaiming “Holy crimson skies of death!”We’re also treated to audio from Eartha Kitt’s version of Catwoman and Cesar Romero’s Joker as the camera passes by Batman.

Nicolas Cage’s Superman

However you may feel about the characters discussed on this list so far, as least they all had the opportunity to shine on screen before The Flash’s release. That wasn’t the case with Nicolas Cage’s Superman; had things gone according to plan, Cage and director Tim Burton would have teamed up in the ‘90s for Superman Lives, which was originally written by Kevin Smith. There are even pictures of Cage trying on an early version of the Superman suit, but by 1998, following Burton leaving to helm Sleepy Hollow, the project was put on hold and ultimately abandoned. The 2015 documentary The Death of "Superman Lives": What Happened? explored the events surrounding its development and cancellation.

Although Cage later voiced Superman in Teen Titans Go! to the Movies, The Flash brought the actor in to cameo onscreen as the Man of Steel, shooting his scene through volumetric capture and de-aging him with CGI. This Superman was shown fighting a giant spider (a threat producer Jon Peters wanted him to face in Superman Lives), before seeing what was happening to the multiverse. It was a fun callback to what could have been, and maybe there will come a time when Cage’s Superman can be revisited in either an animated movie or a comic book series adapting the Lives script.

George Clooney’s Batman

By the end of The Flash, the DCEU timeline reverted back to its original state… with one major exception. Although the movie’s main Barry Allen accepted his mother Nora had to die, he still tweaked the past by moving the soup cans at the grocery store that were obscuring his father Henry’s face on the day Nora was murdered. As a result, Henry was exonerated and finally released from prison. But even rearranging some soup cans had consequences, because when Barry met up with Bruce after his father’s hearing, he was shocked to see his Justice League teammate looked different yet again, with George Clooney reprising his version of Bruce Wayne more than two and a half decades after Batman & Robin.

Considering how poorly Batman & Robin was received and how many times Clooney has apologized for his performance, it’s somewhat surprising that he agreed to cameo in The Flash. To be clear, while Clooney’s Batman in this DC movie isn’t necessarily the same one who fought Mr. Freeze, Poison Ivy and Bane in the mid ‘90s, he has taken over as the DCEU’s resident Caped Crusader, with Ben Affleck’s iteration of the character being wiped away. But don’t think this means we’ll be seeing a lot more of Clooney’s Batman going forward, as it’s already been clarified that a different actor will be hired to put on the cape and cowl for the upcoming DC Universe continuity, with that Batman already primed to lead The Brave and the Bold, directed by The Flash’s own Andy Muschietti.

Given the retirement of the DCEU and the DC Universe’s Chapter One slate launching in the next few years, it’s unclear whether we’ll see more of Ezra Miller’s Flash going forward or if another actor will be tapped to play the Scarlet Speedster. However, given how integral the multiverse is to DC Comics lore, it’s doubtful this movie will be the last time it’s explored in a live-action cinematic setting. Regardless, if you’re in the market for news on upcoming DC movies and upcoming DC TV shows, CinemaBlend will continue to keep you apprised on that front. Those of you wanting to stick around The Flash’s streaming home would also be wise to look over the best movies on Max.

In the months leading up to The Flash’s release, there was a lot of positive hype surrounding the movie, including a report comparing its quality to The Dark Knight. And yet, not only did the second of 2023’s DC movies receive more mixed critical reception, it ended up being a box office bomb, making just $268.5 million worldwide off a reported $300 million budget. As it turns out, The Flash’s commercial failure has negatively affected other corners of the DC Comics media empire, but as a silver lining, there is a fun way that Michael Keaton’s Batman has emerged a big winner in the aftermath.

Let’s start with the bad news first. According to Matt Devoe, co-founder of CovrPrivce, which keeps track of comic book sales online, The Flash’s failure to hit with audiences has resulted in sales of DC’s Flash comic books and products revolving around The Fastest Man Alive taking a blow. As Devoe told THR:

Flash comic books have been regularly published for decades now, and while it’s unlikely the movie’s underwhelming box office performance will result in DC cancelling the main title (which is focused on Wally West these days rather than Barry Allen, for what it’s worth), it’s nonetheless unfortunate to hear that it’s become collateral damage, particularly when it comes to the price of classic issues. This is a sharp contrast from another superhero entry on the 2023 movie release schedule, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, which now sees Miles Morales’ first appearance in the comics, Ultimate Fallout #4, once going for $2,000 and now leveling out at $1,600, vs. the $50 it fetched prior to the sequel’s release.

Now let’s talk the good news for Michael Keaton’s Batman. Toys are a pivotal aspect of a mainstream superhero movie’s merchandising tie-ins, and while sales on this front for The Flash also took a blow, Jordan Hembrough, founder of the toy retail site Hollywood Heroes, shared that the toys modeled after Keaton’s take on the Caped Crusader came out on top. In his words:

Having starred as Gotham City’s shadowy protector in 1989’s Batman and 1992’s Batman Returns, Michael Keaton was the live-action Batman for a generation and continues to collect new fans. So it’s not surprising that there were plenty of people who wanted toys modeled after the actor and his character’s Batmobile, although ironically, that set of wheels were never taken out for a spin in The Flash. Kenton’s Batman only piloted the Batwing in this movie, while Ben Affleck’s Batman chased down Alberto Falcone and his goons on the Batcycle.

Sadly, for those of you who enjoyed seeing Kenton’s Batman back in action, it looks like this was his last hurrah. A few years back, the plan was for Keaton to take over as the DC Extended Universe’s Bruce Wayne from Affleck, which included him cameoing in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom and having a supporting role in Batgirl. Cut to the present day, Aquaman 2 has scrapped its Batman cameo, Batgirl was shelved and much of the DCEU continuity is being wiped away by the new DC Universe franchise. So while it’s now George Clooney who’s replaced Affleck as the DCEU’s Bruce, a new actor will put on the cape and cowl for The Brave and the Bold, which is part of the DC Universe’s Chapter One slate.

If you missed seeing The Flash in theaters, it’ll be available to stream with a Max subscription starting Friday. Otherwise, the latest DC movie, Blue Beetle, is now playing on the big screen, and be sure to check out what’s on the upcoming DC movies lineup.

The DC Universe has had plenty of peaks and valleys since it started with Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel. The past few movies have been box office disappointments, including Black Adam, Shazam! Fury of the Gods, and The Flash. The latter was the most recent release, and has been dunked on countless times online. I was traveling when the movie first hit theaters, and therefore didn’t get the chance to see it. But I finally watched The Flash, and I don’t understand why it got so much hate.

Andy Muschietti’s The Flash was a long time coming, as the movie was delayed countless times throughout the years and went through a number of directors. By the time it hit theaters this summer, DC had gotten new leadership with James Gunn and Peter Safran, and star Ezra Miller was the subject of legal issues and controversies. The cards were stacked against the blockbuster, and unfortunately The Flash was a box office failure. But putting aside all of that baggage, I had a fun time renting and watching the movie from the comfort of my couch. And it might be one of my favorite DCU movies to be honest.

First and foremost, The Flash looks and feels like a true comic book. It’s funny, colorful, and contains a number of beloved returning characters including Alfred, Batman, Wonder Woman, and Aquaman. Even if some of these are mere cameos, the DCU feels like a living, breathing place. Considering crossovers were largely scrapped after the theatrical release of Justice League, this was a welcomed change.

The Flash’s tone and penchant for comedy is also why I was so instantly sold on Ezra Miller’s DC blockbuster. Despite The Flash’s cast of heroes and the multiversal stakes involved, the movie doesn’t take itself too seriously. It's similar to Birds of Prey in that way, which I still think is my favorite movie from the shared universe. In a time where gritty superhero movies are so common, this brighter take helped The Flash’s 144-minute runtime fly by. 

Some of the online criticism aimed at the latest DC movie has been aimed at The Flash’s visual effects. And indeed, there were some moments of the movie where the CGI simply looked unfinished– specifically when Barry Allen is traveling through the Speed Force. But even though this was noticeable at moments, the visual language of the movie itself is so unique and intriguing that it didn’t even ruin those sequences for me. 

Given Andy Muschietti’s acclaimed work on the IT franchise, perhaps I should have always expected to enjoy what he’d bring to the table with The Flash. He applied that same level of care to the DCU, creating a movie that’s shot beautifully. And while there were the aforementioned comedic beats, there were still emotional beats that hit me in the feels, especially related to Barry and his mother.

Overall, I had a blast watching The Flash, and am psyched for a re-watch once it’s available with a Max subscription. In the meantime, check out the 2023 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience. 

Spoilers ahead for The Flash.

Since its inception, the DC Universe has had countless peaks and valleys. The franchise is currently in a strange place thanks to it being rebooted by new co-CEOS James Gunn and Peter Safran. The past few movies have had strange roles in the overall franchise, including Black Adam and Andy Muschietti’s The Flash. The latter project had some wild cameos from previous DC projects both new and old. This included an appearance by the late Christopher Reeve as Superman, which some fans took umbrage with. And now one Smallville actor who worked with the late actor gave his honest take on Reeve’s likeness being used for The Flash.

Christopher Reeve had a long career, but perhaps his most iconic role was as the Man of Steel in the Superman franchise. He also portrayed Dr. Virgil Swann on Smallville, appearing in 2 episodes of that series. Actor John Glover, who played Lionel Luthor on the show, recently responded to the discourse surrounding Reeve’s cameo in The Flash movie, tweeting out his thoughts which read:

Well, there you have it. While some fans took umbrage with Reeve’s Superman appearing in Ezra Miller’s DC flick, it ultimately wasn’t their decision. That goes to the actor’s estate and family. Although John Glover seems to think that the Superman actor would be happy to be included in the movie’s wild multiverse sequence.

The scene featuring Christopher Reeve’s likeness occurs late into The Flash’s runtime. Ezra Miller’s title character watches as the multiverse is all around him, and worlds begin to collide. During this we see Reeve as Superman and Helen Slater as Supergirl from the 1984 movie. Considering this crossover never actually happened, it was definitely striking to see these two characters brought back to life in such a way. But some fans didn’t like seeing the late actor used in this sequence. We also saw Nicolas Cage’s Superman finally brought to life, and even Adam West’s Batman appeared.

Christopher Reeve died in 2004 at the age of 52. His story was one of hope and persistence, as he became quadriplegic in 1995 in a horse riding accident. Reeve is still beloved by moviegoers and Superman fans, which no doubt inspired the discourse surrounding his Flash cameo. 

The Flash is still in theaters now and is already arriving on digital platforms. Be sure to check out the 2023 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience. 

The end of an era happened on television in 2023 with the series finale of The Flash on The CW, which effectively ended the Arrowverse that had begun with just one show all the way back in 2012. At its prime (and not counting the divisive "Crisis on Infinite Earths" crossover event), the superhero universe was comprised of Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl, Legends of Tomorrow, and Batwoman. It's therefore fitting that Stephen Amell – a.k.a. Oliver Queen, the superhero who kicked off the Arrowverse – dropped a wonderfully nerdy Easter egg about The Flash's series finale. 

No, it's not that Amell somehow appeared in the background of the episode and nobody noticed to follow up on his appearance earlier in the final season, although he did name his first appearance on The Flash as one of his favorite Arrowverse memories. The Flash finale Easter egg wasn't one for the eagle-eyed, but for those with an ear for music. Speaking with ComicBook.com, Amell shared this about the finale of the Scarlet Speedster:

Yes, composer Blake Neely titling his final cue to fit the number of Arrowverse episodes he scored was a fabulously obscure Easter egg that makes me want to revisit the Flash finale and listen a little more closely. The show fortunately didn't end on any huge hanging cliffhangers to make it frustrating to rewatch that last episode, even though the door is seemingly open for possible spinoffs. 

As somebody who needed an episode of The Flash to address an issue leftover from the Arrow series finale, I know I was glad that Barry and Co. got a batch of happy and mostly closed endings all around. And kudos to Blake Neely for delivering 641 episodes of memorable music over the years!

I also get a kick out of Amell as the source of the trivia about Blake Neely and the series finale of The Flash, as I can vividly remember watching the very first Arrow/Flash crossover back in 2014 and thinking that the score to Oliver and Barry's fight was phenomenal. 

In fact, part of why I'd rank the Green Arrow vs. Flash showdown from The Flash Season 1 as one of the most memorable fights of the Arrowverse is because of the music in the background. Plus, I hope I'm not the only one who nerded out just a little bit when Neely brought some of the Arrow sounds back to The Flash for Amell's appearance in Season 8. 

You can rewatch the good old days of both Arrow and The Flash streaming with a Netflix subscription now. The CW isn't totally out of superheroes yet despite the end of the Arrowverse, as Superman & Lois has been renewed for Season 4, although with a much reduced cast and shorter episode count than usual. The Tyler Hoechlin- and Bitsie Tulloch-led series is the last superhero show standing for the network, as Gotham Knights was cancelled after one season.

Kiersey Clemons was first cast to play Iris West in The Flash back in 2016, and over half a decade later, she’s finally made her theatrical debut as the character in the long-awaited DC movie. This follows two years after Clemons was first seen playing Iris in Zack Snyder’s Justice League, which was originally released exclusively to Max subscribers. However, while the actress’ overall experience on Justice League wasn’t exactly a cakewalk given how she was cut from the theatrical version, there was an element with The Flash that ultimately made this project more “humiliating for her.”

When Clemons was added to The Flash, director Rick Famuyiwa, whom she’d previously worked with on 2015’s Dope, was attached to helm the Scarlet Speedster’s solo movie, having succeeded Seth Grahame-Smith in the position. Towards the end of 2017 though, Famuyiwa left The Flash due to creative differences, and it was at this point that Clemons started hearing that someone else might replace her as Iris. She explained to Nylon:

Like Willem Dafoe, Ryan Zheng and more, Kiersey Clemons was among the actors who was removed from Justice League’s theatrical cut following Zack Snyder leaving the production and Joss Whedon taking over for extensive reshoots. By this point, The Flash not only wasn’t going to make its 2018 release, it was also undated on the upcoming DC movies calendar, and would remain that way until Andy Muschietti was hired as director. So there was a lot of uncertainty surrounding The Flash during this time, and unfortunately for Clemons, she found herself questioning whether she’d be in the movie at all. That combined with not getting to team with Famuyiwa again was worse for her than learning she wouldn’t be seen in Justice League.

Fortunately, by March 2021, just a week before Zack Snyder’s Justice League was released, it was reported that Clemons would still appear in The Flash. A little over two years later, The Flash has finally arrived in theaters, nearly a decade after the DCEU incarnation of the project was announced, and following years worth of controversy surrounding Ezra Miller, its lead actor. With so many complications, the actress expressed relief in the interview that this movie is finally behind her, saying:

Clemons also joked that she’s been telling people that The Flash is cursed, saying that from her perspective, “someone was over there mixing potions. Something was happening.” Given The Flash’s underwhelming box office performance and the DC Universe Chapter One slate ushering in a new shared continuity, the odds aren’t looking good right now for the actress to reprise Iris West in The Flash 2. Which is a shame, because she didn’t have much screen time in the first movie, and since Andy Muschiett has confirmed Ezra Miller would lead the sequel if it’s greenlit, it would be nice to see Barry Allen and Iris develop a deeper relationship like they have in the comics.

For those interested in Kiersey Clemons’ wider body of work, she also starred in the movie Somebody I Used to Know and the TV show Swarm, both of which were released to Amazon Prime Video subscribers earlier this year. Looking ahead, her upcoming projects include Susie Searches, Praise Petey, The Young Wife and Godzilla and the Titans. Keep track of what lays ahead on the cinematic front with our 2023 release schedule and 2024 release schedule.

Over the last few years, James Gunn has become an integral component to the DC Comics media machine. It started out with him directing The Suicide Squad and then delivering the Peacemaker spinoff series, and now he’s co-running DC Studios with Peter Safran and is gearing up to direct Superman: Legacy, one of the many upcoming DC movies that are officially slated. Funny enough though, a fan has pointed out a fun Easter egg in The Flash that points to Gunn existing in the DC Extended Universe too, and the filmmaker responded to this.

The @HeroesUnbound Twitter account shared a behind-the-scenes photo from The Flash of director Andy Muschietti with actor Ian Loh, who plays Barry Allen as an adolescent, on the set of Barry’s bedroom from his adolescence. As they pointed out, the younger Barry has a Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed poster hanging up, and like its 2002 predecessor, James Gunn wrote the sequel. So after he saw this Easter egg making the social media rounds, Gunn responded with these two words in his own tweet:

Yes, sir, you are indeed canon to the DCEU. I’m even willing to go a step further and classify the entirety of your filmography, minus the DC projects and Guardians of the Galaxy entries for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as canon in the DCEU. As such, it’s entirely possible that when Barry Allen got older, he checked out the Gunn-written remake of Dawn of the Dead, or maybe he saw Gunn make his directorial debut with Slither. But then one could fall down the rabbit hole of envisioning where Gunn’s career would have taken him in a reality where he didn’t helm any superhero movies, but hey, that’s not a bad thought exercise.

The inclusion of that Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed poster also works nicely with the timeline established in The Flash of when Nora Allen died. Per security footage of Henry’s father, Henry Allen, at a grocery store while his wife and son were still at home, we know that an intruder broke into their household and fatally stabbed Nora on June 14, 2004. The second of the live-action Scooby-Doo movies was widely released on March 26 of that same year, so that leaves more than enough for the adolescent Barry to have seen the sequel and hang up its poster in his room. Now I’m wondering if Scooby-Doo 2 might have been more positively in the DCEU than in real life, resulting in Scooby-Doo 3 being made not long after.

Alas, this James Gunn Easter egg in The Flash comes as the DCEU continuity is winding down, with Gunn and Safran now putting together the new DC Universe franchise. With Blue Beetle now confirmed to be part of the DCU, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom will be the final DCEU entry. In 2024, the animated Creature Commandos series will be the first full-fledged DCU project to come out, but the DC Studios heads consider Superman: Legacy’s 2025 arrival to be the “true beginning” of this new shared universe. Other movies on the franchise’s Chapter One slate include The Authority, The Brave and the Bold (directed by The Flash’s own Andy Muschietti), Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow and Swamp Thing, and the TV lineup includes Waller, Lanterns, Paradise Lost and Booster Gold. Perhaps anyone of these projects could throw in their own Gunn-centric Easter egg to confirm he exists in this reality too.

As mentioned earlier, James Gunn is both writing and helming Superman: Legacy, which opens on July 11, 2025. Casting for the movie’s Clark Kent and Lois Lane is narrowing down, and there have also been some contenders reported for the Lex Luthor role. While we wait for more news on that project’s development, break out your Max subscription to view all sorts of past DC movie and TV offerings.

In its first weekend, The Flash won the domestic box office, though it did so in less-than-stellar fashion, failing to hit the numbers previously predicted for the big superhero movie. Still, if The Flash had continued to put up solid numbers in the following weeks, all would not be lost. Unfortunately, it looks like all is, probably, lost, as The Flash’s $15 million domestic box office from this past weekend is a 73% decline from last weekend, which is one of the most significant drops we’ve seen from a major tentpole release. 

These days, especially when it comes to major studio releases, a significant drop from the opening weekend is to be expected. The fact is that most people who are really interested in a film see it as soon as it opens. A lot of movies with very strong opening weekends have very significant drops in their second weekend after the most excited part of the crowd has seen the film. For example, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 saw a 72% drop in its second weekend, but that was a drop from an opening weekend of $169 million, so the second weekend was still a decent number. 

The Flash has made over $120 million internationally, but the studios often take home a far smaller percentage of ticket sales from other nations, so while the film's total box office of $210 million does cover the movie's reported $200 million budget, WB hasn't actually seen that much money yet, and when you add in marketing costs, The Flash still has a lot of ground to make up if it's going to turn a profit.

What makes The Flash’s 73% drop even more significant since it’s a big fall from a number that wasn’t that high to begin with. The Flash’s 73% drop, is bigger than that of the much-maligned Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, which saw a 69% drop from an opening weekend of $166 million. 

In fact, it’s on par with Morbius which saw an even weaker opening than Flash, at $39 million, followed by a nearly 74% drop to just over $10 million in its second weekend. Morbius at least was dealing with a brand new character that not all moviegoers were familiar with. The Flash was certainly expected to do better if only because of the character’s audience recognition.

If the movie had seen a less significant drop, it could have indicated The Flash was going to end up financially successful eventually. If word of mouth had been strong following the opening weekend, resulting in more people visiting the theater, The Flash could have seen several weeks of solid numbers, resulting in ultimate success. Other films, like Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle and The Greatest Showman have become huge successes using this method.

By comparison, Pixar’s Elemental which saw a comparatively bad start to its box office last weekend, saw a significantly lower drop in its second weekend, only 37%. The fact that Elemental didn't have far to fall was certainly part of the reason for the low second-weekend drop, but it also meant Elemental actually finished in second place for this weekend ahead of The Flash. 

The Flash has now brought in barely over $200 million worldwide, and considering it had an estimated budget of around that, it seems all but certain the movie is going to follow Black Adam and Shazam!: Fury of the Gods into the realm of underperforming DC films. Eyes will certainly be on the forthcoming DC movies, especially Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, as the first Aquaman movie is the most financially successful of the entire franchise.  

Warning: spoilers for The Flash are in play. If you haven’t caught this DCEU inevitable intersection just yet, you’ve been warned. 

Oh my, oh my, where do I begin? Welcome back once again to the CinemaBlend Time Travel Labs! Yes, it’s been a while since we've discussed the topic. However, thanks to the Sacred Timeline being broken not too long after we went over how The Tomorrow War’s time travel works, things kind of got weird. One could even say, they’ve gone multiversal; which means it’s time to talk about how The Flash’s time travel works! 

Yes friends, mark down one more Mike variant to keep track of, thanks to another rip in the timeline being created by Ezra Miller’s DC hero. If only I had the power to go back and correct my own timeline, where previous cliffhanger endings didn’t exist. Maybe that opportunity will be presented in the future, but for now fuel up on those all important calories, and let’s dash into how The Flash travels through time. 

The Time Travel in The Flash

After traveling back in time during the ending of Zack Snyder’s Justice League, Barry Allen (Ezra Miller), also known as The Flash, wants to change his personal history for the better. Hijinks, and a lot of continuity breaking, ensues. 

Who's Time Traveling?

Barry Allen, Barry Allen, and… Barry Allen? Three different variants of the Scarlet Speedster are in play here: one from Present Day, one from an alternate 2013, and one that’s endured an undefined amount of time traveling back through the Speed Force. 

From When To When?

Get your notepads ready, as The Flash has quite a bit of time travel to pin down. From 2023, Barry Allen zooms back to 2004, to prevent his mom’s death. That action causes us to zoom forward to a newly rewritten 2013, and eventually back to a new variation of 2023. I’ll explain that later.

The Purpose Of Their Trip

Barry Allen just wants to save his mother Nora (Maribel Verdú), which opens a can of worms throughout time. As a result, two different Barrys try and correct the timeline through several different trips, as the new spin on Man of Steel’s Kryptonian invasion leads to the deaths of Batman (Michael Keaton) and Supergirl (Sasha Calle). 

How Time Travel Happens In The Flash

If you’re a fan of The Flash in pretty much any medium, you know that the Speed Force is key to Barry Allen’s ability to travel through time. Provided that poor Barry has fueled up on enough calories to keep his status as a snack hole in check, traveling faster than the speed of light, or even time, isn’t a problem. 

By running fast enough to outpace the passage of time, Barry creates what’s called a “Chronoball.” Think of it this way: if the timeline was controlled by a mouse, The Flash is the trackball that scrolls to the point in time you want to change. The visual representation of this process actually works in that very way, as time is like a film that can be rewound through this process. 

Once Barry Allen sees the moment he wants to change, he stops and allows himself to sink into that moment through a portal. Strangely enough, this takes into account something that Back to the Future's time travel gets right, as the exact physical location of the moment in question is also taken into account when our hero travels. Of course, there are still plenty of ways he can be thrown off course, especially if a mysterious presence that couldn’t possibly be an aged and bitter version of himself tries to stop him. 

Can History Be Changed As A Result Of Time Travel In The Flash?

Oh, boy howdy, it can… but to a point! Thanks to one can of tomatoes, Nora Allen lives! Which sets off a cascade effect in The Flash’s story that wildly alters the story we thought we knew. In his world, Kal-El never made it to Earth, and his cousin Kara Zor-El/Supergirl is imprisoned by the Russian government.

So this universe has no Superman to call its own, and General Zod (Michael Shannon) and his Man of Steel invasion force are about to succeed. And to cap it all off, Eric Stoltz actually finished filming Back to the Future, rather than being cut from all but one frame of Robert Zemeckis’ influential sci-fi classic.

However, history is only so flexible, as the DCEU has its own version of “Fixed Points in Time,” dubbed “Inevitable Intersections.” Events titled as such cannot be changed, and in the new “Nora Lives!” timeline, Supergirl and Batman are destined to die by General Zod’s hand.  

What Are The Consequences Of Time Travel In The Flash?

The DCEU was always going to be changed after The Flash’s events. But this story actually invokes a rather interesting concept that throws everything out of whack: “Retrocausality.” As Bruce Wayne explained with some dry spaghetti, if you alter one point on a timeline, the entire thing snaps.

This causes a ripple effect that basically changes the past and the future, thanks to that action. Once Barry saved Nora from her mysterious, and still unsolved, murder, it threw events off on either side of that inflection point. Which, once again, creates the ultimate no-win scenario for Barry Allen, in which he has to choose the life of his mother or the fate of planet Earth. 

Also, if you’re a fan of how Star Trek: First Contact’s time travel works, you’ll notice that Barry Allen is protected by a temporal wake. As his mind doesn’t adjust to the new timeline, he’s as clueless as we are when Bruce Wayne all of a sudden looks like George Clooney in The Flash’s surprise ending. 

In DC’s world, if you’re a time traveler, you apparently can never go home, as apparently each change breaks that spaghetti anew. So maybe in the sequel, we can see Val Kilmer's Batman reappear to give Barry Allen a thumb up for whatever his next adventure may be. 

More Time Travel To Come

You know something? It actually felt good to be back at it in the CinemaBlend Time Travel Labs. Which means that, conditions permitting, I think this might be the start of keeping this little corner of the universe back on the rails. 

Though since we’re in a multiverse, there’s still those versions of myself that are waiting to teach everyone how time works in Timecop and Loki Season 1. Come to think of it, I think I need to take a long, hard look at cataloging my multiversal selves and the assignments they’re awaiting.

But not before diving into another upcoming time travel assignment! Next time, prepare to dust off your fedoras and crack out your bullwhips, as we’ll hopefully be looking at how Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny’s time travel works. In the meantime, I’m about to try and answer yet another outstanding question about this strange new world: can we blame the awkward Max rebranding on Barry Allen? 

Updated with video.

Minor spoilers for The Flash lie ahead.

The Flash has been in theaters for over a week now, and it’s made a serious impression on moviegoers, for better and for worse. Reviews of the DC flick have been mixed to positive and, for the most part, general audiences seem to have enjoyed it. However, the film has also received its fair share of critiques, with the biggest one arguably being over the visual effects. Many haven’t held back their discontent with the CGI and have seemingly wondered what contributed to it. Well, amid the chatter, a crew member has weighed in, providing an honest take on what’s to blame for the “poor” VFX. 

Zach Mulligan is a visual effects artist that’s worked on several high-profile movies, including The Bad Guys and Black Adam. When it comes to the latest superhero movie he’s worked on, he’s seen the criticisms of the visual effects. So he took to TikTok to share a couple of videos in the hopes of shedding some light on the behind-the-scenes matter. Mulligan clarified in one of the clips that despite his experience as a VFX artist and animator, he was actually a production coordinator on the Scarlet Speedster’s long-awaited solo film. In that position, however, he was still able to communicate with artists regularly and get a sense of the tough working conditions. On that note, Mulligan attributes the lackluster effects to the collaboration process between effects companies and entertainment studios: 

The animator made note of the vast number of superhero movies that are being pumped out these days and that studios have “reduced the time to make them.” Zach Mulligan – who left the production after three months – also argues that as a result of that, VFX companies are forced to hit “insane” deadlines or risk losing contracts to competitors. He added:

The industry vet noted in his caption that the “bad CGI” in DCEU flick is “just the tip of the iceberg” and that “poor” effects are “too common” at this point. This discussion on subpar computer animation has gained significant momentum in recent months, and a number of people have made allegations regarding unsatisfactory working conditions for artists. Certain studios have been criticized for purported practices, including Marvel Studios. An Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania artist claimed the movie suffered due to unreasonable deadlines. And just this past week, animators on Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse spoke anonymously about their own working environments. They claim that because of a haphazard creative process, the upcoming sequel, Beyond the Spider-Verse, will be delayed.

As for The Flash, director Andy Muschietti has addressed the effects and argued that they were presented as intended. He argued that this direction was due to the fact that audiences are seeing a number of things from Barry Allen’s distorted perspective. Still, fans have taken issue with a few key moments, including the opening action sequence that sees Barry saving heavily CG’d babies and another involving a host of multiversal cameos. Fans will likely stick to their opinions on the effects for the DC movie and other high-profile titles. And one may assume that all the while, artists like Zach Mulligan will continue to share their experiences working on said productions.

You can see The Flash for yourself, as it’s now playing in theaters as part of the schedule of 2023 new movie releases. Fans can also read up on information regarding upcoming DC movies.

Warning: SPOILERS for The Flash are ahead!

Nearly a decade after it was announced for the DC Extended Universe, The Flash finally raced its way into theaters this past weekend, delivering an adaptation of the 2011 storyline Flashpoint to the masses. This isn’t the first time this DC Comics tale has been adapted; the first was in 2013 with the direct-to-video animated movie Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox, and the second was in The Flash TV show’s Season 3 premiere. However, the movie’s version of Flashpoint stands out in a big way from the other adaptations in a big way by not including Eobard Thawne, a.k.a. Reverse-Flash.

Going into The Flash movie, I was skeptical that it would be able to deliver an effective Flashpoint take without using Reverse-Flash given not just his prominent role in the original story, but how much he factors into Barry Allen’s life in the comics. And yet, despite my various issues with this movie (including that Grant Gustin, The CW’s Flash, didn’t cameo), I walked away being glad that this adaptation avoided using Reverse-Flash. As I’ll detail in this piece, The Flash was better off leaving this yellow-garbed speedster out of the proceedings.

Flashpoint Only Works With Reverse-Flash If He’s An Established Villain

Although Eobard Thawne has been part of Flash lore since 1963, the miniseries The Flash: Rebirth, published from 2009-2010, gave him an extra layer of importance by revealing he was the one who murdered Barry Allen’s mother, Nora Allen, when Barry was a boy. Then in Flashpoint, although it’s eventually revealed that it was Barry who was responsible for changing the timeline rather than Eobard, the latter nonetheless appears in the final issue to taunt his foe and deliver one hell of a beating until he’s stabbed by the Thomas Wayne version of Batman. So had The Flash movie been aiming to deliver a more faithful adaptation of Flashpoint, naturally including Reverse-Flash would have been near the top of the to-do list.

The thing is, having Eobard Thawne in any kind of Flashpoint adaptation only works if he and Barry Allen having been clashing for a long time, and that’s not the case in The Flash movie. While Ezra Miller’s Barry is certainly no crimefighting newbie, there’s no indication he and Reverse-Flash have ever crossed paths, or that Barry even has his own rogues gallery. Furthermore, the identity of Nora Allen’s murderer is never revealed; sure, it could still be Eobard, but it could also just be some random person who broke into the Allen household. 

After years of watching Grant Gustin’s Barry and the Matt Letscher/Tom Cavanagh-played Eobard fight over The Flash TV show’s nine seasons, I would welcome a day where we can see these two foes go at it on the big screen. But in order for Eobard to fit properly into a Flashpoint adaptation, he needs to have a well-established adversarial relationship with Barry, something that was present in Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox despite him not being identified as Nora’s killer. Shoehorning their first meeting into The Flash movie on top of everything else going on just wouldn’t have have hit hard as it should have, so I’m glad this was sidestepped completely.

The Impact Of Nora Allen’s Death Is More Important Here Than Who Or Why She Was Murdered 

As mentioned, we never learn in The Flash who stabbed Nora Allen, let alone their motives for doing so. In this story, that actually works out rather well, because those details aren’t as important as the impact of her death. Along with Barry obviously being traumatized by losing his mother at such a young age, his father, Henry Allen, is blamed for the crime and sent to prison. The need to prove Henry’s innocence is what drove Barry to become a CSI tech, and his super speed has allowed him to carry out further justice and protect the innocent.

While I’m a fan of Eobard Thawne’s added importance to Barry Allen’s personal life, for the kind of story The Flash movie was telling, his presence wasn’t necessary. It’s not the murderer who’s important to the story, but rather how their actions significantly changed two people’s lives, so much so that Barry was willing to travel back in time to create an alternate timeline where Nora was still alive. Perhaps if The Flash 2 happens (and if it does, Ezra Miller would stick around), the identity for Nora’s killer, be it Reverse-Flash or someone else, could be revealed. For now, let’s just be grateful that Barry’s slight alteration to the timeline towards the end of the movie was just the nodule needed to get Henry out of prison, though in consequently led to the DCEU’s Batman now looking like George Clooney rather than Ben Affleck.

2013-Barry Becoming Dark Flash Is More Emotionally Compelling

For most of The Flash, there isn’t really a conventional main antagonist. Yes, General Zod arrives to terraform Earth just like he did in Man of Steel, and the two Barrys, Michael Keaton’s Batman and Sasha Calle’s Supergirl team up to stop him, but that’s not what makes the third act so gripping to watch; it’s that no matter what they do, this world’s battle with Zod and his forces will always lead to the latter two dying. While the main Barry acknowledges that this is a lost cause, the 2013-Barry won’t stop traveling back in time to try and reach a desirable outcome. As he keeps doing this, the multiverse starts collapsing in on itself, and then a mysterious speedster, the same one who knocked the main Barry into the alternate 2013, appears. It’s a future version of 2013-Barry who’s become the twisted Dark Flash and spent decades trying to save his reality from Zod, and he’s now arrived to stop the main Barry from letting Nora die so that things can go back to normal.

The Flash made a wise move by teaming the main Barry with an alternate version of himself who’s younger rather than the same age. Because he’s more impulsive and only just gotten his own super speed, 2013-Barry is more prone to take actions that simply feel right to him rather than plan ahead or at least weight the pros and cons of his actions, making it understandable why he’d eventually become Dark Flash, as he’s obsessed with saving the world on the day of Zod’s invasion. The good news, though, is that the “present day” version of 2013-Barry opts not to follow in his future self’s path and sacrifices his life to save the main Barry and wipe Dark Flash from existence. This makes for a more compelling arc than if Eobard had been forced into an already packed story. As an added bonus, The Flash’s Dark Flash bears some physical resemblance to the Daniel West incarnation of Reverse-Flash. So in a way, this movie gets a Reverse-Flash after all, just not the one we’re used to. He’s even wearing yellow when we meet him!

Be sure to check out CinemaBlend’s other recent coverage of The Flash, including the ending breakdown and our thoughts on why Michael Keaton’s return was so awesome besides him just being Batman. If you’re interested in seeing Eobard Thawne realized in live-action, the entirety of The Flash TV show can now be streamed with a Netflix subscription.

The following contains spoilers for the end of The Flash.

The Flash is a movie in a very weird place. The DC Universe that it was born into is coming to an end in only a few more months. That wasn’t completely understood back when the movie was made. And yet, for so many reasons The Flash is actually the perfect movie to end the current DC Universe as we wait to begin the new one, which is why it’s all the more strange that The Flash is somehow not the last movie in the current franchise. Hear me out.

In a few months, we’ll see Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, which is the last DC movie on the schedule under the old guard. In a couple of years the new DCU headed by James Gunn and Peter Safran will begin, and the characters of the current DC franchise are either being recast or entirely ignored, at least for now. So why the hell isn’t The Flash the note the studio decided to go out on?

The Flash Works Better If It’s The End Of The Franchise 

When you come to the end of something, it makes a lot of sense to look back at where you came from. When the MCU came to the end of its Infinity Saga it told a story of time travel and multiverses that saw characters revisit places the story had been before, and The Flash does largely the same thing, taking us back to the events of Man of Steel, though in a slightly modified version.

Not only that, The Flash incorporates elements of DC movies past by bringing back Michael Keaton as Batman. Considering the modern comic book movie craze is in no small part indebted to that movie, it’s a fitting film to celebrate. In my opinion, Keaton’s Batman and The Flash working together are a perfect bookending of three decades of DC heroes on the big screen.

And then the ending of The Flash takes things even further back. We see and hear nearly every previous version of Superman and Batman on the big and small screen as the different universes collide. We see George Reeve as Superman and Adam West’s classic Batman, even Christopher Reeve’s Superman makes an appearance along Helen Slater’s Supergirl. It’s the perfect way to say goodbye to all of it before things start fresh in a couple of years.

Aquaman 2 And The Flash Could Have Easily Swapped Release Dates 

Which raises the question, why was the decision made to release Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom after The Flash? Both movies suffered from various delays related to the pandemic as well as the general delays that come with every movie production. As such, both movies have largely been done for a long time. There’s no reason that Aquaman 2 couldn’t have come out first.

At one point it was absolutely the plan to release the Aquaman sequel before The Flash, but then the decision was made last year to shift the releases of Aquaman and Shazam!: Fury of the Gods, while leaving the release date of The Flash intact, so Aquaman and the Loast Kingdom went from coming out three months before The Flash to six months after. 

James Wan has said the Arthur Curry-led film changed after the Gunn announcement. In addition, it's been rumored and it's possible that this decision was made because Aquaman 2 needed the extra time, but did it really need all the way until December? Couldn't it have moved to June and then The Flash could have been shifted to December? It's clear the studio has big expectations for Flash, and thus almost certainly wanted it in the prime summer slot, but big movies have made billions in December too, and if Flash is that good, it would have.

Even if the new Aquaman movie makes $1 billion at the box office as the last movie did, and even if it’s a truly great film in its own right, and even if some version of Batman shows up  ---which may still be happening -- it’s still going to be just an Aquaman movie. In my opinion, that’s not how this version of DC should have gone out.

Maybe There’s A Reason Aquaman 2 Will Be The End Of The DCEU

Unless, of course, there’s a reason that those release dates were swapped around. While most of what we know about Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom would seem to indicate it’s mostly a standalone Aquaman movie, we haven’t actually seen anything from it, so maybe there’s something we don’t know about the project that will make it a fitting end of the DCEU.

Jason Momoa does appear in The Flash’s mid-credits sequence, in a scene that, while fun, doesn’t seem to add anything to The Flash’s ending. It wouldn’t be the first time that a post-credits scene was used strictly for laughs, but considering that the scene did include the lead character of the last movie, it’s maybe a bit surprising that the scene didn’t tease anything about the next movie or do anything with Aquaman that might set him up for whatever is to come.

Except maybe it did? Perhaps there’s more going on in that mid-credits scene than we think, and we just don’t understand it because we haven’t seen the new Aquaman movie yet, and it will all make sense. Avengers: Endgame wasn’t the end the Phase Three of the MCU, after all. That was Spider-Man: Far From Home, which sort of acted as a post-script on the events of the massive climax. Perhaps that’s what Aquman and the Lost Kingdom is being set up to be. Of course, we knew that Far From Home was not going to be the final MCU movie, so where the chapter ended was maybe less important. Aquaman won’t be the end of a chapter, it will be the end of the story. 

Even when James Gunn and Peter Safran launch their new DCU, that doesn’t mean that the current era of DC films will be gone forever. In the same way that The Flash brought back so many classic versions of popular heroes, something similar could happen in the future of the DCU. Still, when we’re looking back on this particular era of DC Films years from now, many might not even remember that Aquaman 2 was where it ended. The Flash’s ending was so much more poetic. 

Light spoilers for The Flash lie ahead, so read at your own risk.

The Flash may have predominantly focused on the character of Barry Allen, but the narrative also included a number of other powerful players. One of those is the imposing Kara Zor-El a.k.a. Supergirl, who’s played by Sasha Calle. The actress did an impeccable job playing the Girl of Steel and was easily one of the standouts of the 2023 new movie release. Based on interviews she’s given, it sounds like Calle relished the opportunity to join the franchise in such a major role. Doing so meant that she had to put in a lot of hard work, though, and there was apparently one scene that was a “real pain in the ass” for her to film. 

Incredibly physical work typically comes with the territory when you’re playing a superhero, and it seems that was indeed the case for the Young and the Restless alum. She got candid about her experiences while doing press for the long-awaited DC Extended Universe film. When it comes to the sequence that she found to be the most strenuous, the star made note of the silo sequence. She did make it a point to note that it was “fun” but, on the whole, it sounds incredibly tiring to me, based on her comments: 

The silo sequence marks Supergirl’s debut in The Flash, as Ezra Miller's two Barry Allens and Michael Keaton’s Batman seek to escape after liberating Kara from her prison. It’s a long and winding sequence and one that ends with Zor-El fighting her captors head on. Given all that was involved in pulling off the scenes, I can understand why the 27-year-old star would've felt somewhat drained. She shared more details about the ordeal while speaking with Collider, making note of how she had to prepare for the work when she wasn’t on set: 

As tiring as the work was, I’m glad to hear that Sasha Calle still found the experience to be “incredible.” It’s been very clear just how much she appreciates the major opportunity she earned from director Andy Muschietti and the producers. Calle found it “emotional” to be playing the first Latina Supergirl, and she had an all-caps reaction when the first footage of her as the character dropped. She’s now become something of a favorite for fans and stars and even received praise from former Superman actor Henry Cavill. 

With the reception to her portrayal in mind, you get the feeling that Sasha Calle’s work has not been in vain. Her future as the character is currently uncertain, but I, for one, am hoping that she gets to don the red cape on screen again. And can also assume that since she’s had a go as the superheroine, she’d be even more prepared for the physical work the second time around.

The Flash is now playing in theaters and be sure to check out CinemaBlend’s schedule of upcoming DC movies for info on other superhero fare.

DC fans who prefer the work of Zack Snyder in the universe were not happy the other day because they believed that marketing and promotion for the new movie The Flash suggested the film was a sequel in continuity with Joss Whedon’s butchered Justice League… also known as the Josstice League. The evidence connecting the two was thin. 

Now, having seen The Flash twice, I can tell you there are two scenes in The Flash that very clearly point to things that happened in the Snyder Cut, but were not found in the dreadful theatrical cut. Thereby proving that in the current slate of DC Movies, Snyder’s cut of Justice League is canon. We're about to jump into spoilers, so please be forewarned!

This is important to Zack Snyder’s fans because they literally had to fight tooth and nail to get the Snyder Cut of Justice League released. Warner Bros. acknowledging its existence, and making it part of The Flash narrative, is an outstanding step toward making Zack’s work on the DC trilogy canon. There have been some outliers on social media making the claim The Flash wipes away Snyder’s Cut, when in fact, the opposite is true. There are two very distinct moments in The Flash that prove that this movie is canon to The Snyder Cut, and not Josstice League. Let me break them down. 

Barry And Bruce’s Conversation

Shortly after Barry runs fast enough to access the Speed Force, peering backward into events of the past that just happened, he turns to his chief confidant, Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck). Bruce seeks clarification, and basically asks Barry if him running back in time is similar to what he did in Russia. And Barry confirms that yes, it’s just like that. Only in Russia, he only traveled back one minute. And in the instance that we watched in The Flash, he traveled back a full day. 

The running sequence in The Snyder Cut looked like this:

Here’s the thing. Barry never traveled back through time in the Josstice League cut. He races to protect that dreadful Russian family (who were only included for pathetic comic relief), but Superman (Henry Cavill) was able to help Cyborg (Ray Fisher) separate the Unity, stopping Steppenwolf’s attack. Do the math, and Batfleck referring to the time travel moment from Zack Snyder’s Justice League (which doesn’t occur in Josstice League), that seemingly confirms The Flash is canon with The Snyder Cut.  

You need more? Sure, this one really solidifies it. 

Iris Remembers Meeting Barry

One of the reasons DC fans were so furious with Josstice League is that it appeared actors of color were removed from the original footage. That included a long sequence with Kiersey Clemons that didn’t make it into the theatrical cut but was restored into Zack Snyder’s Justice League. During the sequence, Iris is involved in a serious car accident, and Barry uses his incredible speed to rescue her mid crash. She spots him when the two of them land in the street, but then he speeds off.

Flash forward (no pun intended) to the first time Iris (Clemons) meets Barry (Ezra Miller) outside of the courthouse in The Flash. She mentions remembering seeing him recently, but can’t recall when. Barry awkwardly jokes that they haven’t seen each other since school, trying to brush past this scene:

This interaction does not happen in Josstice League. So, if Iris West mentions remembering it in The Flash, then she remembers a scene from The Snyder Cut, strengthening the connections between Andy Muschietti’s movie, and Snyder’s magnum opus. 

Do you agree? And how much does it matter to you? Either way, it seems like The Flash is closing the door on DC’s past, with Blue Beetle serving a unique position of being a major start of DC’s new beginning. History is being made, by the day. 

While I’d consider myself a fluent fan in the world of Marvel, when it comes to the DC movies, I’m more of a casual viewer. This means that every time a new movie comes out about Batman or Wonder Woman I have to figure out if I need to go back and do some homework. Looking at the 2023 movie schedule and the list of upcoming DC movies, I was really pondering The Flash, and if I’d be able to keep up with it -- having not seen a movie with Ezra Miller’s speedster in it since the theatrical Justice League came out. So, for science, and your viewing pleasure, I went and saw The Flash as a casual DC viewer. Needless to say, I left the movie with some thoughts.

First, it’s worth noting there are some major moments that weren’t as meaningful to me as they will be to those who have seen the DC movies in order over the years. With that being said, let’s break down why a casual viewer will enjoy this movie about the Scarlet Speedster, but also why it might not pack the same punch as it will for longtime fans of the comic book universe. 

Why Seeing The Flash Made Me Nervous

Now that we seem to live in a world where there are numerous multiverse movies in a given year, there’s always a question -- at least in my mind -- about whether I’ll be able to really understand a film. This is especially true with projects that are within an already-established franchise. The Flash made me nervous; I really didn’t know if I’d get it.

Though I’ve seen the majority of the movies DC has released at least once, I haven’t rewatched any of them. I know quite a bit about The Flash going in just having worked in the entertainment industry, but thinking about watching a movie that dealt with the complexities of a universe I barely understand seemed daunting.

However, I’m pleased to report that even if you are going into The Flash blind, you won’t be left completely lost. The film sets up Barry Allen’s dilemma of wanting save his mother clearly, and it becomes apparent early on that that is the impetus for the fracture in the multiverse. From there, we’re whisked away to a completely new universe where Young Barry lives, and he’s just as confused as us casual viewers when it comes to understanding the greater DC universe.

So, newbies are welcome, but I still had some thoughts about a few things that were tough to fully comprehend.

Why Having Young Barry Be Confused Will Work For Casual Fans

Since Young Barry is so confused, it forces Older Barry (the one who was in Justice League) to explain everything that’s happened, which is very helpful to viewers like me. These two Barrys act as a fantastic way to explain complex exposition, and it’s a major reason why this movie is comprehendible for those of us who haven’t dedicated a ton of time to understanding the DC universe.  

However, while this movie is crafted in a way that your average moviegoer can understand, it’s also a project that was clearly made for lifelong DC fans. I think our own Nick Venable put it best in his review of The Flash when he wrote:

Don’t get me wrong, this is a complex movie, and it’s helpful to have at least a base-level knowledge of the characters. However, I think you will enjoy yourself if you’re not a massive fan of the franchise and are just looking for a fun summer blockbuster.

Still, Elements Like General Zod Were Tough To Keep Up With

There were elements of this movie that flew over my head or made me a tad confused. However, it didn’t really diminish the movie, I still understood the greater story and what was going on, it just meant when it came to the deeper meaning of the film and how it fits into the DC universe, I was a tad lost. 

The first thing that left me a little confused was the use of General Zod. As someone who sees just about every superhero movie that comes out at least once, it’s hard for me to remember all the villains, especially for the movies I didn’t love. So, considering Man of Steel came out a decade ago and Batman v. Superman came out 7 years ago, and I wasn’t the biggest fan of either, I didn’t remember the role General Zod played. 

Plus, as someone who is really not all that aware of Superman lore beyond the fact that Zod is the really big bad, his relevance to the DCEU was lost on me. So, when he showed up in The Flash, I was a little lost. Eventually, the film explained why he was important, and it was enough for me to understand why he was such a lethal villain, but if you aren't a superfan moments like this may not have the payoff they seemed to for other fans.

I Also Struggled A Bit With (But Loved) Michael Keaton's Batman

I’m really no expert when it comes to DC, and I haven’t seen Batman or Batman Returns, so any references they made back to Michael Keaton’s Batman in The Flash flew right over my head for the most part. Although, he was my favorite part of the movie. So, if you are like me and aren’t caught up on the Dark Knight’s storied history but you like this actor, you’ll enjoy the role he plays in the movie.  

... And What's Going On With The Snyderverse?

Overall, my biggest point of confusion came when I tried to figure out if The Flash honored the Snyderverse, and the DC movies that have come before it. While I still don’t really know the answer to that question personally, I do know that having more knowledge of the Snyderverse would have been useful. 

As I spoke with a co-worker about the film, I learned there were references back to Zack Snyder’s Justice League. Also, it was clear while watching the movie there were jokes and callbacks made that I didn’t get, but the opening night audience found them hilarious – and that includes things like the key line in The Flash’s end credits. 

In the end, it’s safe to say that if you’re just a casual DC moviegoer you’ll be fine seeing The Flash without doing some homework first. Honestly, the film does a good job of giving us non-experts a digestible plot, but they also pay homage to the lifelong fans who have been waiting years for this movie, which is impressive. 

If you want to check out The Flash, no matter your level of DC expertise, you can see it right now in theaters. 

Major spoilers for The Flash lie ahead, so read on at your own risk.

The Flash is a big-screen production that’s been years in the making, and it finally made its way to cinemas this weekend. Andy Muschietti’s superhero film not only provides Barry Allen with his first solo film, but it also essentially serves as a capper to the DC Extended Universe as we know it. The movie also features a plethora of major surprises that seem to be delighting some DC fans. Some of those Easter eggs leaked, including Nic Cage’s wild cameo. Despite some information seeping out though, the film’s ending was not, as the powers that be went to great lengths to keep it a secret. 

How Warner Bros. Sought To Keep The Flash’s Ending A Secret

It’s easy to assume that a number of moviegoers were quite surprised to see how the final moments of the Scarlet Speederster’s latest big-screen outing played out. The movie ends with the timeline-bending Barry returning to the present, where he’s under the belief that he’s undone the changes that he previously made by attempting to prevent his mom’s murder. However, he receives a major surprise after leaving his father’s successful appeal in court. After making a date with Iris West, Barry gets a call from Bruce Wayne, who eventually pulls up at the courthouse. It’s not Ben Affleck’s iteration of the character who greets him, though. Instead, it’s George Clooney reprising his role as Wayne. 

Given the magnitude of such a development, Warner Bros. Discovery and DC did a lot to keep this ending a secret, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Those who attended CinemaCon earlier this year didn’t get to see the moment in its entirety, as the scene cut before viewers could see who pulled up the building to meet Barry. Apparently, the entertainment conglomerate didn’t even show the scene during formal test screenings. Those showings can be crucial during the production process, so it’s definitely interesting to hear the execs allegedly decided to omit it there as well. Ultimately, the scene debuted for the public amid press screenings earlier this month, and it was later shown at the movie’s premiere as well.

Given the weight of the cameo and the tendency for info to leak, one can understand why the powers that be acted as they did. Plus, the attempts to keep things hidden was probably better from a moviegoing perspective. Many who dislike being spoiled were able to walk into the theater without prior knowledge of major story beats. Speaking for myself, I can say that I had absolutely no idea how that final scene was going to play out. And the thought of the Batman & Robin star appearing never crossed my mind. So kudos to the studios for keeping things under the radar. Yet I still wish that Nicolas Cage’s Superman cameo wouldn’t have been spoiled by Andy Muschietti.

That Wasn’t The Only Ending That Was Filmed For The DCEU Installment

What’s even more interesting is that THR learned that the conclusion fans saw in cinemas wasn’t the initial one that was planned. The Flash’s ending reportedly changed along with the shifts in corporate regimes at WB Discover and DC. The OG capper was devised under now-departed execs Toby Emmerich and Walter Hamada. It was screen-tested and saw Michael Keaton’s Batman and Sasha Calle’s Supergirl – who were both killed during the final battle with Zod – appear at the courthouse alive and well.

But that approach changed after executives Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy were installed by David Zaslav. The conclusion that they oversaw still kept the two aforementioned characters but added Henry Cavill’s Superman and Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman. Supes was dropped in because at the time WB was still planning for Cavill to play the role in a new movie. Of course, it was later revealed that Cavill would not return to the role. As for Gadot, her inclusion was meant to tease a third solo movie starring Diana Prince, which was in the works. Yet Patty Jenkins’ threequel was reportedly scrapped. 

So all in all, we can thank James Gunn and Peter Safran for the ending that we saw in theaters and for helping to keep it under the radar. The scene leaves a lot for you to think about in regard to the future of this franchise. Even the seemingly joke-like end-credits sequence should be considered. But at present, I’m just appreciative of the fact that the film’s shocking resolution didn’t enter my consciousness until I was sitting in the theater. (And still a little salty that the Nicolas Cage cameo was spoiled for me.)

The Flash is now playing in theaters and is one of the biggest titles on the schedule of 2023 new movie releases. You can also read about upcoming DC movies if you’re already pumped for what’s coming down the pike.

Major spoilers below for anyone who hasn’t yet watched The Flash on the big screen, so be warned!

For all that it’s centered on the fastest man alive within the world of DC Comics, The Flash certainly took a while to make its highly anticipated theatrical debut. With Ezra Miller in the starring role, the time-traveling blockbuster is finally here to deliver all the Flashpoint-adjacent emotional trauma that fans have been waiting for, and it broke open the DC multiverse in some pretty massive and unpredictable ways that will no doubt get picked apart by viewers. But as awesome as it was to witness gobsmacking moments such as Nicolas Cage’s live-action Superman (among other things), Andy Muschietti’s film somehow dropped the ball when paying off on the live-action history of its titular hero, and I’m all the more peeved that TV’s Scarlet Speeder Grant Gustin did not make a cameo appearance.

• The Flash Review: Ezra Miller's Speedster Adventure Is DC At Its Lore-Building Finest

Let’s run through why ignoring the Arrowverse’s Barry Allen and that universe seems like such a glaring issue in my mind now after having watched The Flash feature in full.

Ezra Miller And Grant Gustin's Barry Allens Already Met

Thanks to the Arrowverse’ bonkers “Crisis on Infinite Earths.” which served as The CW franchise’s sixth big crossover, TV audiences already had the privilege of watching Grant Gustin’s Barry Allen sharing the screen with Ezra Miller’s Barry, which was a doozy of a moment. (Even for a TV event that also included appearances from ‘60s Batman star Burt Ward, Kevin Conroy’s Bruce Wayne and the Doom Patrol.) So no matter how one slices up the timeline shenanigans that take place within the movie, big-screen Barry should have the memory of meeting a wholly different version of himself. And in a film where he spent much of the runtime quasi-training himself as a teenager, one would think Ezra Miller’s character would have mentioned that previous incident, even if just in a throwaway line. 

Aside from that, it’s also a bit of a face-smack for WB execs to have made the Miller cameo demand late in the game for the show’s creative team, presumably as a way to further bolster the show’s popularity, while apparently not making similar requests to include Gustin in the feature. The actor shared as much back in April when first confirming that he wouldn’t appear in the film, even though some fans were still holding out hope that his Barry Allen would show up in archival footage or something similar, especially since the actor wasn’t made aware that he was shown in Titans’ huge multiverse sequence until after the fact. His take was unfortunately correct in this case, however.

Ignoring Grant Gustin Is Flat-Out Weird Given All The Other Multiverse Connections

One of the biggest selling points for The Flash’s pre-release marketing for literal years now has been Michael Keaton’s return to the role(s) of Bruce Wayne and Batman. Had he been one of very few pieces of canonical connective tissue utilized in the timeline-changing chaos, I might not be so quick to question others’ absences. But this is also a movie that delivered Michael Shannon’s return as General Zod (even if he wasn’t so pumped about it), the perhaps final on-screen appearance from Ben Affleck’s Batman, and a bunch of literal alt-universe worlds colliding. 

But those worlds were almost entirely focused on the various live-action iterations of Superman and Batman from the past 100 years. For example, moviegoers could see TV’s first Man of Steel George Reeves, a poignant shot of CGI Christopher Reeve alongside Helen Slater’s Supergirl, the Batman and Robin from the 1940s movie serials, the aforementioned Super Nick Cage, and way more. There were more than enough moments during that sequence (or elsewhere in the 144-minute movie) where Grant Gustin’s Barry could have been featured prominently, if temporarily, as everything started to converge. Hell, he could have easily lent a helping hand or two in the process, having already saved his Earth’s Central City and beyond from time-traveling no-nos. (Far too many of them, some might say.) 

I personally would have found it to be awesome if Grant Gustin’s Barry was revealed to be the Dark Flash who’d spent years and years trying to perfect the time traveling rescue mission. Especially since that reveal was one of the film’s weaker moments. 

At The Very Least, John Wesley Shipp Should Have Been Honored

Perhaps Andy Muschietti and the film’s producers felt that the Arrowverse’s Flash already featured too many examples of ‘90s Flash actor John Wesley Shipp returning as either Henry Allen or Jay Garrick. Or maybe there was another reason behind it all, but I couldn’t help but also feel a bit judgmental about the movie not paying respect to the first person to ever play The Flash in live-action. Shipp starred as Barry Allen for a single 22-episode season in the 1990s TV series, and went on to appear in even more Arrowverse episodes. 

So even if there were issues over scheduling or timing or whatever when it came to bringing Grant Gustin into The Flash’s storyline fold, it’s possibly a bigger miscue for the movie to also not have paid direct tribute to Shipp ushering DC’s speedsters into live-action for the first time. Granted, he wasn’t the very first to play the part, as Mary Tyler Moore Show vet Ted Knight and voice acting great Jack Angel were two of the actors to voice Flash for the animated SuperFriends series. References to those two would have been cool as well, but nah. 

No doubt various reasons exist for why The Flash so deliberately ignored its main character's own pop culture history, but it was still disappointing to walk out of the theater without witnessing any love being shown to the TV universe. But we can always return to Grant Gustin's version of the Speed Force with a Netflix subscription, assuming Barry didn't accidentally erase Netflix from existence at some point.

SPOILER ALERT: This story contains spoilers from The Flash. 

After what felt like an eternity of anticipation, countless script revisions, a history of delays, and a merry-go-round of directors, The Flash has finally sprinted onto the silver screen. With its apparent aim to indulge the nostalgia of enthusiasts of DC movies (even featuring a cameo referencing a scrapped Nic Cage Superman film), the movie has sparked a blend of reactions among critics, ranging from enthusiasm to skepticism. However, one aspect has resonated across the board: disappointment with the visual effects accompanying the Scarlet Speedster's maiden cinematic adventure. In response to the chorus of fan complaints, director Andy Muschietti has stepped forward to reveal that those seemingly subpar visual effects were, in fact, a deliberate choice.

Much of the viewers' discontent centers around a particular opening sequence, in which Ezra Miller's heroic speedster races against time to rescue infants, a faithful dog, and a courageous nurse from a crumbling hospital. The portrayal of the computer-generated imagery (CGI) newborns in the adrenaline-pumping opening action scene has been described as "inhuman" and "highly unrealistic," and the same sentiment applies to the human characters throughout the film's manifold time-travel sequences. It was during an interview with io9 that Andy Muschietti confronted the contentious visuals head-on, acknowledging their peculiar appearance while reaffirming their intentional design. He provided insight into his creative vision, saying:

The Mama director’s explanation sheds light on his ambitious attempt to capture the speedster's unique perspective. By distorting visual elements, he immerses the audience in an otherworldly realm that mirrors Barry Allen's view of the world. This departure from conventional aesthetics may raise questions about artistic intent versus rushed visual effects.

Despite the mixed critical reception of The Flash, Andy Muschietti's future with Warner Bros. and DC Studios seems bright. The company heads, James Gunn and Peter Safran, have enlisted him to helm their upcoming Batman project, The Brave and the Bold. (It's important to note that this venture stands apart from Matt Reeves and Robert Pattinson's The Batman and its confirmed sequel.

While Andy Muschietti initially remained tight-lipped about a potential take on The Brave and the Bold, recent reports confirmed him as the top choice for the project. It remains to be seen how Flash audiences will respond to his audacious vision, the film's unique visual effects, and whether it will affect the box office performance. Nevertheless, with Muschietti officially helming another take on the Dark Knight, it’s possible he may consider fans’ complaints while bringing the Bat Family to the screen again.

The Flash is currently playing in theaters nationwide, so be sure to check your local listings for showtimes. And while you're at it, remember to peruse our schedule of 2023 news movie release to stay updated on the other films that are hitting cinemas this year.

The following contains MAJOR spoilers for The Flash.

The Flash is a movie that seems designed from the ground up to be a huge nostalgia trip for any and all big fans of DC’s pantheon of comic book heroes or at least anybody who has seen all the movies based on those characters. Not only is Michael Keaton’s Batman a big part of the movie, but the film’s big multiverse finale gives us numerous cameos (both authentic and digital) from some of the greatest heroes of comic book movies’ past. And also…Nicolas Cage.

Nicholas Cage has never played a live-action Superman, though he did appear as the voice of Superman in Teen Titans Go to the Movies a few years back, and yet standing there in all his glory standing alongside TV's Superman George Reeves and the standard bearer of Superman Christopher Reeve is a version of Superman clearly played by Cage, who is fighting a giant spider? Just what in the world is going on here? While The Flash director had already spilled the Cage cameo before the movie's release, we still didn't know what it meant. Even after seeing it, though, many may still be confused.  There actually is an explanation, and the truth of it all is absolutely as wild as the moment itself.

The Flash References A Superman Movie That Never Happened, But Almost Did

While it sometimes seems like there was never a time when comic book movies weren't the biggest thing at the box office, the subgenre isn't all that old. Movies based on comic book characters certainly existed following Richard Donner’s Superman and its eventual three sequels, but did not re-enter the sphere of the blockbuster until 1989’s Batman. A decade later, after Batman & Robin put an end to that particular franchise, it only made sense for DC execs to look to its previous box office success for a new franchise around Superman.

Perhaps surprisingly, the WB tapped raunch-comedy king Kevin Smith to pen the script for the new Superman movie. While Smith’s comic book bona fides were certainly well known, he’d never written a movie at that level before. But as a comic fan and creator, he of course took on the challenge. Tim Burton was even suggested to direct the project, and, as the man who had successfully launched Batman, he was an obvious choice. 

The project, tentatively titled Superman Lives, would have been a variation on the Death and Return of Superman story arc as it was portrayed in the comics, with Superman battling Doomsday, though with this version of Doomsday being sent by another classic Superman villain, Brainiac. However, many of the key decisions regarding the movie's plot and action sequences weren’t actually handled by the screenwriter.

Kevin Smith And The Giant Spider 

In the 2002 DVD An Evening with Kevin Smith, the writer/director talked at length about his time working on the project, then called Superman Reborn. He’d been brought in by WB, and was asked to look at an existing script that by his own admission was terrible. Eventually, the studio gave him a shot at writing his own Superman movie.

However, a producer (whom Smith did not name at the time) reportedly gave the Clerks director three edicts that needed to be included in the film. First, Superman could not wear his traditional red and blue costume. Second, he could not fly. And lastly, the third act required that the Kryptonian hero fight a giant spider.

Smith himself admitted he found the requests bizarre, but the producer was apparently quite insistent. It was eventually confirmed that the producer in question was Jon Peters, with that discovery coming in part due to another '90s project he'd supervised: Will Smith’s Wild Wild West, which did indeed include a third-act action sequence involving a giant spider.

Of course, making a Superman movie requires finding somebody to play Superman. While most of the actors who played the role haven’t been household names when they got it, the plan for Superman Lives was to fly in the opposite direction by casting a major star.

 How Nicolas Cage Almost Became Superman 

If you’re even a little bit of a Nicolas Cage fan, then you likely know that Cage is a big comic book superhero fan. His stage name was inspired by Marvel’s Luke Cage to give one example of how comic books have influenced him, but like many, he is a fan of Superman above and beyond all other characters. One of Cage’s three children is named Kal-El, in case there was any doubt about what a Superman super fan this guy is. 

Nicolas Cage, being at the height of his fame following action movies like The Rock and his 1996 Best Oscar win for Leaving Las Vegas, was seen as a massive get for the studio. Cage, being the massive fan that he was, obviously wanted nothing more than to play the Man of Steel. The project even got as far as costuming and there are images of Cage's screen test wearing a Superman costume, which were almost certainly used as a reference when putting the sequence in The Flash together.

 Why Superman Lives Never Happened 

As with so many movie projects, Superman Lives never delivered Nicolas Cage fighting a giant spider. Burton apparently didn’t like Kevin’s Smith initial script, so he brought in Wesley Strick for a rewrite. Warner Bros. was afraid Strick’s script was too expensive, though, and tasked Dan Gilroy will rewriting the script as something more budget-friendly. In the end, the studio execs never laid eyes on a script that anyone truly loved. The project lost its biggest creative when Burton moved on to other things, and Superman Lives simply died on the vine.

Superman eventually returned to the big screen in the form of Superman Returns, an homage to the Richard Donner original that, for better or worse, failed to launch a franchise of its own, even if it did manage to follow in Superman Lives' footsteps by casting Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor. The DCEU was later born with Henry Cavill's Superman in Man of Steel and now Sasha Calle's Supergirl, and here we are.

In the end, we will never know if Nicolas Cage's Superman (and/or Clark Kent) would have worked. Maybe it’s a lost masterpiece. Maybe it would have been downright awful. But somewhere in the multiverse is one in which Superman Lives happened, and The Flash gives us the briefest glimpse into that world.

The following contains MAJOR spoilers for The Flash. 

After years of waiting, many different screenwriters, and more directors than we can count, The Flash has finally made it to the screen. Originally, there were expectations that The Flash would act as a sort of reboot for the existing DCEU, but now that we know that the new DCU under James Gunn and Peter Safran will be largely starting things over, The Flash instead will be one of the last movies in the current franchise to be released, but it certainly tired to go out on a high note.

To say that a lot happens at the end of The Flash is understating things quite a bit. Something closer to the truth would be that everything happens during The Flash ending. The film packs a lot into its finale, and makes at least one significant change to Barry Allen’s world, though at this point we’ll have to wait and see how much it all means, assuming it means anything at all.

How The Flash Ends 

The finale of The Flash begins as the two versions of Barry Allen, the one that we know and the alternate version from a timeline where Barry’s mother survives, try to find a way to defeat Zod, and they continually fail. They go back in time again and again. Yet failure continues. Our Barry understands quickly that success is simply not possible, but the alternate version continues to try. We’re then introduced once again to the same creature inside the Speed Force that initially knocked Barry out at the wrong time, and we discover that it’s another version of alternate Barry who has spent his entire life continuing to try and find a solution.

The three versions of Barry are in a stand-off inside the Speed Force where they can see the various alternate realities that exist begin to be destroyed. We see the previous versions of DC characters from the big and small screen, including Superman as portrayed by both George Reeves and Christopher Reeve. We see the old movie serial version of Batman and hear the voice of Adam West. 

Ultimately, the speed force version of Barry tries to kill our main character, but the alternate Barry sacrifices himself, effectively killing the villain, as well, since they are technically the same person from different times. Barry then returns to undo his actions from the beginning that saved his mother’s life, in order to put everything back the way it was.

Barry does change one thing, however. He moves all the cans of tomatoes at the supermarket to a higher shelf, allowing for the security cameras at the grocery store to capture his father’s face. The act allows Barry's dad to successfully earn parole from his prison sentence. Everything else in Barry’s world appears to be just as it was, at least until Bruce Wayne arrives to see Barry.

The Flash’s Hilarious Surprise Cameo 

In the final moments of The Flash, we discover that at least one thing has changed in Barry Allen’s world because he doesn’t recognize the guy that everybody else is calling Bruce Wayne. This is because the character is no longer being played by Ben Affleck as he was at the beginning of the film. It’s not even Michael Keaton, who became Batman in the alternate timeline. It’s George Clooney.

Needless to say, this is a hilarious cameo, and Clooney is the perfect candidate for it. Keaton had already appeared in the movie. Val Kilmer is unfortunately not available for this sort of appearance, and Christian Bale just wouldn’t have been as funny. Clooney, as a guy who has spent years poking fun at how terrible he thinks his Batman movie was, is just right.

His appearance poses so many different questions. Did everything that happened in the DCEU between Man of Steel and The Flash still happen, just with Clooney’s Bruce Wayne instead of Affleck? Does this mean that Batman & Robin is canonical to the DCEU now? Did Jared Leto’s Joker murder Chris O’Donnell’s Robin? 

How Much Will It All Matter For The New DCU?

In any other situation, this would be a potentially epic game-changer for a franchise and fans would be looking forward to future entries to see what happens in the next movie. But in this case, there is no next movie. 

While the Clooney cameo is fun, it’s all but certain that it’s only meant as that. As things stand now we are only expecting one more DC movie in the current continuity, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, before all the upcoming DC movies become part of James Gunn’s new DCU. This is expected to be a completely new continuity and nothing from the current series has been confirmed to be coming over to the new one.

The Clooney cameo would, in its own way, seemingly confirm that. They could have cast literally anybody as the “new” Bruce Wayne at the end of The Flash. The opportunity could have been used to reveal who the new Batman will be in The Brave and the Bold, the movie that has already been announced that will be the DCU-connected Batman’s first major film, not to be confused with Robert Pattinson’s Batman, which is also moving forward with at least one announced sequel.

A move like that would have been tough; The Brave and the Bold is years away, and handling that casting in time to insert a cameo would have been quite the undertaking, so it’s not exactly shocking that it didn’t happen. However, it all simply reinforces the idea that the end of this story is very near, and none of it will be important when the new story begins. 

Still, who knows? While we know the new DCU will include a new Superman and a new Batman, nothing has been said about the rest of the Justice League yet. We don’t know when we’ll even see the first DCU appearances of Wonder Woman, Aquaman, or yes, The Flash, so maybe this isn’t quite the end for the speedster. We could still see Ezra Miller play The Flash again, even if technically he’s not playing the same version of Barry Allen that he played here. Time will tell.

The DC Universe is known for its twists and turns, both in front and behind in the camera. The next upcoming DC movie arriving in theaters is Andy Muscheitti’s The Flash, which has been a very long time coming. The blockbuster looks like a wild ride through the multiverse, and even brought back Man of Steel’s Michael Shannon as Zod. While the movie is adapting the Flashpoint comics, there are a few big differences, including the absence of Batman’s parents. And now we know why The Flash movie doesn’t turn Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s Thomas Wayne into Batman like in the comics.

Jeffrey Dean Morgan had a small but memorable role in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice playing Batman’s father Thomas Wayne. In the Flashpoint comics, Barry Allen’s actions result in Bruce Wayne dying as a child, with his father and mother becoming Batman and Joker respectively. The Flash director Andy Muschietti recently spoke to EW about the DC flick, and shared why certain plot points like Thomas Wayne’s Batman weren’t included. In his words:

There you have it. It looks like the folks behind The Flash weren’t aiming to do a completely accurate adaptation of Flashpoint. While it’s still a story about the Scarlet Speedster going back in time to save his mother, exactly how this changes the universe in the movie is going down differently than the source material. And hopefully that means that even the most hardcore DC fan can be surprised by the film’s contents.

Reviews for The Flash are rather positive, so maybe Andy Muschietti did the right thing regarding how it adapted the Flashpoint comics. Still, it would have been thrilling to see Morgan as Batman, especially if it was opposite Lauren Cohan as Martha Wayne/Joker. Fingers crossed that these plot lines play out in a possible sequel. For their part, both Morgan and Cohan have expressed interest in making this happen. Hey, anything’s possible.

While Thomas and Martha Wayne seemingly aren’t in The Flash, it’s still going to be a wild multiversal story. Both Ben Affleck and Michael Keaton will be playing Batman throughout its runtime. Ezra Miller is playing two different versions of Barry Allen, while we’ll also be introduced to Sash Calle as Supergirl. We’ll just have to see how all these characters factor into the movie’s story.

The Flash will hit theaters on June 16th. In the meantime, check out the 2023 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience. 

The DC Universe has had a wild tenure in theaters, full of peaks and valleys. In addition to the narrative twists on the big screen, there’s also been plenty of leadership shakeups behind the scenes. The next upcoming DC movie hitting theaters is The Flash, which has been a long time coming. The movie’s star Ezra Miller recently compared Zack Snyder and Andy Muscheitti, and now the DC fansdom can unite.

The DCU began with Zack Snyder’s trio of blockbusters, before he and Warner Bros. eventually went separate ways. Andy Muschietti’s The Flash will bring it back to the events of Man of Steel (bringing back Michael Shannon in the process), albeit seemingly in an alternate universe. Ezra Miller surprised the public by appearing at the DC movie’s premiere, where they compared their two directors. The clip is going viral on Twitter, with Miller saying:

Well, there you have it. While Zack Snyder has a very strong and vocal fanbase, perhaps they’ll be able to enjoy The Flash since Andy Muscheitti has been compared to him by Miller. Regardless, I bet there are still going to be corners of the internet pleading for WB to #RestoreTheSnyderverse.

While Ezra Miller didn’t do press for The Flash ahead of its release, that changed at the movie’s premiere event. They did a few interviews on the red carpet, and wore an outrageous outfit. Although given what Miller has worn for premiers like Fantastic Beasts 2, perhaps this shouldn’t be a surprise. You can check out their look for the premiere of The Flash below:

It’s exciting that The Flash has finally had its premiere, as the movie’s fate was precarious for a period of time. Ezra Miller was involved in a number of controversies and legal issues last year, which seemed to put the DC flick in jeopardy. But Miller has since apologized for their actions, and is seeking treatment for complex mental health issues. We’ll just have to see how the movie ultimately performs at the box office; The Flash’s reviews are rather positive. Can Muschietti’s work really be compared to Snyder’s? Luckily audiences will be able to judge for themselves.

All will be revealed when The Flash hits theaters on June 16th. In the meantime, check out the 2023 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience. 

It’s been almost three weeks since the series finale of The Flash aired and effectively closed out Grant Gustin’s time as the Scarlett Speedster. The actor portrayed the beloved DC hero for 10 years, first appearing on Arrow’s second season before winding up with his own starring vehicle. It was announced in 2022 that the show, the last remaining and longest-running Arrowverse installment, would be coming to an end after its since-concluded ninth season. With that, a number of fans may have been wondering what prompted the decision. Now, Gustin -- who was emotional and nostalgic during production -- is opening up about why he decided to end the series. 

While appearing at Phoenix Fan Fusion, Grant Gustin shared his decision to conclude the show. As explained by Parks and Cons via Twitter, the actor initially found it daunting to be leading a major TV show at the age of 23, though in time, he grew into the position. Nevertheless, things have changed in Gustin's personal life since then, as he now has a family. And due to his work responsibilities he's had to spend time away from his daughter, meaning he can't even do things like read her a bedtime story. So given the push and pull, he ultimately reasoned that it was time to hang up his famed costume.

I can imagine it's hard doing such a job while having a child at home. As is the case with the fan-favorite actor, one can't help but feel like they're missing all of the important milestones in their kid's life. The Glee alum and his wife welcomed their daughter in 2021, so she's still quite young. It's understandable that star would want to ensure that he's around during her formative years.

Seeing the beloved superhero series end was bittersweet, but it was able to have a proper finale, which nearly marked a full-circle moment for Barry. Unfortunately, due to the shortened 13-episode season, some "spectacular" storyline plans had to be cut. Even though a lot of familiar faces returned to Central City for the final season, not everyone could make it, which was definitely disappointing. Still, you can't help but appreciate that there was closure and that the leading man was able to conclude things when he was ready.

When Grant Gustin wrapped filming on The Flash, he posted a lengthy message to his Instagram about how much the series means to him. He also included photos from his last day that feature him, his wife, and their daughter. Walking away from something that's been part of his life for 10 years had to be bittersweet. Nevertheless, I'm sure he takes comfort in the fact that he was able to walk away on his own terms and is now in a position where he can spend more time with his family.

Check out all nine seasons of The Flash now with a Netflix subscription. Also, know that while the journey of Grant Gustin's Barry Allen may be over, the show left the door open for spinoffs. The chances of them happening may be slim but, who knows, maybe an offshoot could happen that doesn't require Gustin to reprise his role.

For the past couple of years, we have been hearing all about Andy Muschietti’s The Flash. And in recent months, we’ve been treated to multiple trailers and first looks showing what Ezra Miller has in store for us with the return of Barry Allen, as well as some other iconic DC Comics characters.

As part of our partnership with AMC Theatres, where you can now purchase tickets to see The Flash in theaters, we’ve come up with a list of six things we can’t wait to see the Scarlet Speedster in the upcoming superhero movie on the big screen. From traveling through time and the multiverse to teaming up with Michael Keaton’s returning Batman, there is so much we just can’t wait to see go down in The Flash.

Use His Super Speed To Travel Through Time And The Multiverse

The Flash appears to have a simple enough premise: Barry Allen travels back in time to prevent his mother’s death. But in doing so, the Scarlet Speedster creates not only a world of issues, but a multiverse of problems, one that sends him to an alternate reality with legendary heroes and diabolical villains.

On one hand, the idea of watching The Flash travel back in time is incredibly exciting, as we’ll surely be treated to some epic action sequences and stunning visuals while he’s traveling at superhuman speed. The same can be said about this alternate reality and all its possibilities. But at the same time, the emotional journey that Barry will surely go through as he tries to prevent his mom’s tragic death and prevent his father from being wrongfully convicted for it, is something that has us just as excited.

Show Off His New Costume, Including Its Ring Container

One of the best parts about any new superhero movie is the new suit and gadgets employed by the central hero. And based on the footage we’ve seen from The Flash thanks to its multiple teasers and trailers, Barry Allen’s new costume looks to be one of the coolest and most impressive outfits we’ve seen in a comic book movie in some time. And honestly, that’s exciting to think about.

The Flash has always had one of the DCEU’s coolest costumes, but the suit in his new solo outing is not only out of this world, it’s out of this universe. The crimson exterior, which is divided by golden lines, pops, and we just can't wait to see it in action. And then there is the alternate Barry’s suit, which looks to be made from discarded pieces of Batman’s costume that have been spray-painted red. To say we’re excited to see how this comes to fruition is an understatement.

Team Up With Michael Keaton’s Version of Batman

For a lot of us, Michael Keaton was the first actor we saw playing Bruce Wayne, aka Batman, on the big screen 30-plus years ago, and now the beloved actor is finally returning to the role in The Flash. Seriously, this is one of those films that takes a movie that was already receiving a great deal of buzz and turns up the excitement exponentially. It’s something many of us always wanted to see again but never thought would happen.

And judging by the trailers and everything else we’ve seen and heard about The Flash, it looks like Keaton’s take on Batman is going to be a central part of the movie, and not just a quick cameo. The iconic suit, his Bat Cave of unforgettable vehicles, and all those gadgets make it hard to contain our excitement. Add in his quotable “You wanna get nuts?” line, and the anticipation goes up even more.

Form A Partnership With Supergirl

Another team-up that we can’t wait to see in The Flash is the one involving Barry Allen and Kara Zor-El (Sasha Calle), aka, Supergirl. In the movie’s alternate universe, Kara has a similar story to Kal-El, in that she’s an orphan from Krypton who arrives on Earth and later becomes its sworn protector. 

The footage of Zor-El midflight, or taking any challenges that come her way, is impressive to say the least, and we can’t wait to see what comes of her story and role in the movie. Teaming up with The Flash to protect Earth and prevent the very fabric of space and time from getting ripped apart also seems like something that will be great to see on the big screen. And it will also be cool to see what Calle does in her portrayal of Supergirl, as she’s the first Latina actress to portray the character.

Fight Alongside Another Version Of Himself Who Has Super Speed

In addition to teaming up with Supergirl and two different Batmen in The Flash, Barry Allen will also fight alongside another version of himself, one who also has super speed. This alternate version of The Flash looks to be a major part of the movie and at the center of some of its bigger action sequences.

The idea of two versions of the character using their superpowers to save the day, and the multiverse, is another thing we just can’t wait to see go down when The Flash opens on the big screen. And with Ezra Miller getting even more of an opportunity to showcase their acting skills (especially when playing two different characters) should make for an unforgettable experience for everyone in the theater.

Take On Man Of Steel’s General Zod

The return of General Zod (Michael Shannon), the big bad from Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel, is something that has had us excited ever since we found out the character was returning to the DCEU. And not only will we get to see Supergirl take on her fellow Kryptonian in the upcoming adventure, we’ll also get to see what Barry Allen (and alternate Barry Allen) have in store for the diabolical foe determined to wipe out life on Earth.

Those of us who were sad to see the iconic character meet a quick end in the DCEU’s first movie a decade ago should be in a good spot when Zod returns to the big screen in hopes of carrying out his diabolical plan. And the idea of Shannon reprising the role all these years later is also something everyone should be excited about, even if you missed his first turn as the character.

We can’t wait to see what Andy Muschietti has in store for us with The Flash, whether it’s characters like Barry Allen and Bruce Wayne teaming up to save the day, working alongside a new hero, or anything else we covered. If you’re like us, you’ll probably want to go ahead and purchase your tickets before you’re out of time.

The Flash opens in theaters on June 16, 2023.