The Flash Movie Ending and Major Cameos Explained

06/15/2023 05:15 pm EDT

UPDATE: TVLine has since confirmed that Teddy Sears does not appear in The Flash movie, and was mistaken for a "generic representation" of the character in question. Our original story is as follows.

After years of being in the works, The Flash movie is finally out into the world this weekend. The DC blockbuster has promised to take a massive look at the DC Multiverse writ large, all while showcasing the heartfelt solo story of Barry Allen / The Flash (Ezra Miller). It was safe to assume that The Flash would include a fair share of cameo appearances from other previous DC actors and properties — and the film's third act definitely delivered on that in an unexpected way. If you want to know all about the major cameos, and how they factor into The Flash's ending, you've come to the right place. Obviously, major spoilers for The Flash lurk below! Only look if you want to know!

The film follows Barry Allen / The Flash (Ezra Miller) balancing his superhero status quo with fighting the injustice of his dad Henry (Ron Livingston) being falsely accused and imprisoned for murdering his mother, Nora (Maribel Verdú). Once Barry discovers that he can use his super-speed to access a "Chronobowl" plane of existence and travel back in time, he goes back to stop his mom's murder — and accidentally finds himself in a new universe where she is alive, but the Justice League aren't. After a fight against Zod (Michael Shannon) continues to end in death and destruction, that universe's version of Barry keeps going back in time to undo it, causing the Chronobowl to start to decay and other Chronobowls of the multiverse to start to crash into each other.

The audience is very briefly shown these additional Chronobowls, beginning with a black-and-white universe showcasing George Reeves' Superman from the 1950s, and even a Jay Garrick / The Flash (played by former The Flash TV show star Teddy Sears, whose character impersonated Garrick before being revealed as Hunter Zolomon / Zoom). Another Chronobowl shows Christoper Reeve's Superman and Helen Slater's Supergirl standing shoulder-to-shoulder (utilizing deepfake technology and artificial intelligence, as the two never shared the screen together). A third Chronobowl shows Adam West's Batman, also using deepfake technology. A fourth shows Nicolas Cage as Superman in the costume from Tim Burton's unproduced 1990s movie Superman Lives, fighting a giant spider (a plot point that plagued the film while it was in the works). 

Barry soon discovers that part of the multiverse's decay is attributed to a dark speedster — who is revealed to be the younger version of Barry, after years of self-torment and ill-fated efforts to save the timeline. After the three versions of Barry discuss the paradox of their situation, the dark speedster grows angry and tries to kill Barry, only for younger Barry to sacrifice himself instead. This quickly restores order to the multiverse, and makes Barry realize that he can't undo his mother's murder, but he can still go back and visit her one last time. He does so, and then makes a minor change to the evidence surrounding Henry's alibi on the day of the murder, helping him get exonerated in the present day. Barry celebrates his victory and calls up Bruce Wayne, only to discover that it isn't the Bruce from his own universe — it's George Clooney's from 1997's Batman & Robin.

What do you think of the cameos in The Flash movie? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

The Flash is now playing exclusively in theaters.

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