Last night, The CW shocked DC fans by bringing Ezra Miller’s Barry Allen — last seen in the Justice League movie — into the network’s five-part “Crisis on Infinite Earths” crossover. The decision, apparently, was made by top Warner Bros. executives, who likely saw the fan enthusiasm for the mega-event and decided it was a good way to promote the planned The Flash movie that Miller is slated to star in for director Andy Muschietti. In the scene, Miller’s Flash appears at S.T.A.R. Labs, where he encounters Grant Gustin’s Flash. The pair have a brief moment, in which the Gustin Flash apparently gives Miller’s the idea for his superhero name, and then Miller vanishes.
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The guy who helped facilitate all of this was reportedly legendary comics artist Jim Lee, who serves as a publisher at DC. During a recent conversation with Entertainment Weekly, executive producer Marc Guggenheim explained how Lee got involved, and what his role was in bringing the biggest surprise of the Crisis to life.
“Basically, I was really working hand-in-hand with Jim,” Guggenheim told EW. “From the moment we found out that this was a possibility, to once we knew Grant Gustin was cool and on board with it and Ezra was on board with it, I would send drafts of the scene to both Jim Lee and [DC Entertainment’s film VP] Adam Schlagman and we would just go back and forth. The trick with the scene is that I didn’t want to and they didn’t want me to do anything that stepped on the toes of the Flashpoint movie that they’re developing. So, we really worked hand-in-hand. Jim was really great about just making sure that all the parties were talking to each other, that nothing was getting stalled. He was a cheerleader when he needed to be, a diplomat when he needed to be. He really stepped up in every way one could do it. His enthusiasm really helped make this possible.”
That’s an interesting quote because for all the things that fans have already started attaching to the scene — does it mean Barry will be moving throught he multiverse in the Flashpoint movie? Does it confirm Cyborg appears? — you could point to the idea that Guggenheim worked hand-in-hand with Warner Bros. brass to make it work and say that’s the evidence that fans aren’t crazy.
On the other hand, you could say that if he was going out of his way not to do anything that “stepped on the toes” of the movie, that could suggest nothing in “Crisis” should be considered too movie-adjacent. It will be a couple of years before we really know what to make of it, probably.
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.
