The Flash’s Tom Cavanagh Wants to Return as Reverse-Flash in James Gunn’s DCU

It has been almost a year since The Flash concluded its run on The CW, but one speedster — or rather the actor behind him — is willing to race back into action for James Gunn’s new DC Universe. During an appearance at Toronto Comicon, Tom Cavanagh, who played Eobard Thawne/Reverse Flash in The CW’s Arrowverse, was asked by a fan if he would be interested in reprising his role as the character to which Cavanagh somewhat lightheartedly said that he would.

“Yes, James Gunn, James where are you? James, I’m right here, pretty solidly built, still athletic,” Cavanagh said (via ScreenRant). “You know, not the youngest cat, but pretty good, pretty fast on their feet, can move pretty good. I would love to work for you, Gunn. I hear all this stuff on social media about Grant Gustin, c’mon, he’s got a job.”

On Wednesday, Gunn responded to video of Cavanagh’s comments on Threads with a simple laughing face emoji, showing that he was definitely amused by Cavanagh’s entirely amusing approach to answering the question.

At this point, what plans Gunn has — if any — for Reverse Flash in the new DCU are, but Cavanagh isn’t the only The Flash alum who has said that they’d be open to reprising their role for Gunn. Grant Gustin has also previously said that he would be open to playing Barry Allen/The Flash again if Gunn were to ask him because he trusts the filmmaker.

“Yeah, if James Gunn asked me to play The Flash, I would do it again,” he said. “I trust James Gunn.”

The First Film in the New DC Universe Will Be Superman

The first film in the new DCU will be Superman which is set to open in theaters next year. Per DC Studios, Superman tells the story of Superman’s journey to reconcile his Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing as Clark Kent of Smallville, Kansas. He is the embodiment of truth, justice, and a better tomorrow, guided by human kindness in a world that sees kindness as old-fashioned. 

“We got James Gunn and Peter (Safran) working very hard on DC, which is going to be a very big growth driver for this company,” Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav explained last year. “We are very bullish on DC. The Superman script first draft is done. Gunn is on a mission from god. It is a really good moment to prove out on DC what we got and how strong it is globally for long-term sustainable growth.”

Who Will Star in Superman?

Superman will star David Corenswet as Clark Kent/Superman, Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor, Skyler Gisondo as Jimmy Olsen, Wendell Pierce as Perry White, Sara Sampaio as Eve Teschmacher, Terence Rosemore as Otis, María Gabriela de Faría as Angela Spica / The Engineer, Isabela Merced as Kendra Saunders / Hawkgirl, Nathan Fillion as Guy Gardner, Edi Gathegi as Michael Holt / Mr. Terrific, and Anthony Carrigan as Rex Mason / Metamorpho.

Superman is currently scheduled to be released in theaters on July 11, 2025.