The Flash: The CW Confirms John Wesley Shipp As Flash's Dad, Teases A Continuing Role

John Wesley Shipp, who played Barry Allen and The Flash in the 1990s TV series The Flash, will play the title character's father in the upcoming CW series by the same name, the network confirmed today. Shipp will play Henry Allen who, in the most recent iteration of the character's origin in the comics, is wrongly imprisoned for the murder of Flash's mother after she's killed by a time-traveling speedster. While Nora Allen's death was referenced in Arrow, it wasn't clear until we started to see ads for the series pilot whether they would follow through on the rest of the story. In the comics, Henry Allen died before his son ever became The Flash, but according to the series creator, the TV show will bring back Shipp for more episodes, suggesting that he'll either be used in flashback (which wouldn't be shocking since this is, after all, an Arrow spinoff) or that the series will break with the comics and Henry will not have died in prison. "Given his history with The Flash, Andrew, Geoff and I could only think of one person we wanted to play Barry's father and that was John Wesley Shipp," said series Executive Producer Greg Berlanti. "He gives a fantastic and emotional performance in the pilot and we are looking forward to his presence in many more episodes. Also, personally, it was just wonderful to work with him again since my days at Dawson's Creek. He's a great actor and a great guy." When the extended trailer for The Flash hit, it seemed clear to most that Shipp was playing Henry Allen; he appears in a family photo in an establishing shot and then later in a scene where young Barry is watching his mother attacked by a strange force.