Crisis on Infinite Earths EP Didn't Know Any Flash Movie Plot Points

In the fourth hour of The CW's "Crisis on Infinite Earths" crossover, Barry Allen came face to face with one of his doppelgangers. While that has not been an entirely uncommon occurrence on The Flash, this time was a little different -- not just because the multiverse was gone at that point and the doppelganger's presence was hard to explain, but also because the doppelganger in question was the Barry Allen from Zack Snyder's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League movies, played by Ezra Miller. The appearance managed to remain a surprise all the way up until airtime, which is rare -- especially for a surprise of that magnitude.

As previous reports have suggested, the decision to bring Miller into the crossover actually came from Warner Bros. Pictures, and was communicated to executive producer Marc Guggenheim by TV chief Peter Roth. Guggenheim said that when it happened, he was as shocked as the fans were this week.

"It actually was incredibly surreal," Guggenheim admitted. "And Peter Roth, he basically started the phone call with, 'okay, you're not going to believe this. You're not going to believe I'm asking this.' And it was really surreal. And I was driving to work, and I think I almost crashed my car."

He also cautioned against reading too much into what they saw in "Crisis on Infinite Earths," in terms of guessing what might be happening in the forthcoming The Flash film adaptation starring Miller. There have already been fan theories debating whether "Crisis" could play a role in the movie, which is reportedly a loose adaptation of Flashpoint, or whether Miller's reference to "Victor" means Cyborg is in the movie.

"Everything we put in there, we put in there with the approval of Warner Brothers Theatrical," Guggenheim explained, "but I haven't read a draft. No one's even pitched me what the movie is. I was really writing blind, quite frankly. And there was some ad libbing on the day, but we had someone from Warner Brothers Theatrical, there onset, everything was vetted. But it's definitely information provided on a need to know basis. Truth be told I didn't really need to know in order to like the theme."

The Crisis brought together heroes from various eras of DC's TV and film adaptations, including Brandon Routh's Superman (originally seen in Superman Returns), Burt Ward's Dick Grayson (originally seen in the 1966 Batman series), Tom Welling's Clark Kent (originally seen in Smallville), Tom Ellis's Lucifer Morningstar (currently appearing in Lucifer), and Ezra Miller's version of The Flash, who first appeared in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and has his own solo movie coming up from the director of IT.

Fans can get caught up by watching all five parts of the "Crisis on Infinite Earths" crossover on The CW's website or app now, or buying them through video on demand platforms. The post-"Crisis" Arrowverse begins this weekend with new episodes of Batwoman and Supergirl before Arrow and Black Lightning return next week.

What did you think of The CW's "Crisis on Infinite Earths?" Let us know in the comments below or tweet at @russburlingame with your thoughts!