The Flash Actor Hints At JSA Connection To Legends Of Tomorrow

Longtime DC fans were thrilled last night when it was revealed that John Wesley Shipp -- the actor who played Barry Allen on 1990's The Flash, and who played Barry's father Henry right up until that character was killed last week -- was actually going to play the Earth-3 version of the Golden Age Flash, Jay Garrick.

Shipp was apparently pretty pleased, too, and not just becuase it allows him to suit up as a superhero again despite being over sixty.

"The thing they love to do at the end of the season is they introduce so many different elements that could go in so many different directions," Shipp told Variety in an interview following last night's finale. "For me, personally, as an actor, Henry Allen was rather closed-ended, he was there for a purpose, he served his purpose, it was time for him to die. The fact that I'm now getting to morph into an entirely different character that is so important to the Justice Society of America, which also bleeds into Legends of Tomorrow, he's such an important character to this whole world – it just opens up enormous possibilities for me as an actor going forward, and the challenge for me, having played Henry, is that I now get to create an entirely different character going forward. And how that affects Barry – because Barry's going to want to lean on this guy who looks just like his father but is not his father – that can create a whole bunch of psychological conflict too. I'm as excited as you are to see how all of this will play out."

Of course, what exactly his role will be in the Justice Society is anybody's guess. It's not clear yet from Legends whether that JSA comes from another Earth, the past, the future, or something else entirely.