The DC FanDome virtual convention is still a few days away, but that hasn’t stopped some major pieces of news from being made public. The latest groundbreaking detail is tied to the upcoming The Flash movie, with director Andy Muschietti confirming that the film will feature the return of both Ben Affleck and Michael Keaton’s iterations of Batman. This update validated months worth of rumors (or in Affleck’s case, years) about the upcoming film, while also confirming that the project would be diving further into DC’s live-action multiverse. Now that we can expect Ezra Miller‘s Barry Allen to travel to different Earths in the film, fans can’t help but wonder — could Grant Gustin‘s version of The Flash, who currently stars on The CW’s The Flash series, appear as well?
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Earlier this year, the fourth hour of The CW’s “Crisis on Infinite Earths” crossover absolutely exceeded viewers’ expectations, when it included a scene of Miller and Gustin’s versions of Barry Allen/The Flash meeting face-to-face after traveling through the Speed Force. The brief moment saw both Barry Allens being confused by the other’s arrival, with Gustin’s Barry even appearing to give Ezra’s Barry the inspiration for using “The Flash” as a codename. The moment ended with Ezra’s Barry fading away, and remarking that he’d told Victor Stone/Cyborg (Ray Fisher) “that this was possible”.
The moment sent shockwaves throughout the internet, simultaneously playing off of years of conversation surrounding both iterations of the Scarlet Speedster, and also confirming that the DC live-action multiverse was more expansive than fans had thought. In the days since Miller’s “Crisis” cameo initially aired, creatives on both the movie and television side addressed how it came about, with Warner Bros. executives and even The Flash movie writer Christina Hodson planning for the appearance in advance.
Now that we know that The Flash movie will have a universe-hopping plot – one that will touch on “Earth-89”, where “Crisis” established that Michael Keaton’s Batman canonically exists – there’s absolutely potential for other corners of the multiverse to factor into the film. Some have begun to speculate that The Flash movie could ultimately feature even more iterations of Batman, with Val Kilmer or even Christian Bale being convinced to put on the cowl once again. While we’ll ultimately have to see if that ends up being the case, there are certainly other corners of the DC multiverse that Miller’s Flash could explore — and sharing the screen with Gustin again, whether through the “Crisis” scene or something new entirely, would be one of the most poignant options.
Miller and Gustin’s versions of The Flash have unintentionally been intertwined almost from the start, with Miller being cast in the role just a week after the pilot of The Flash TV show debuted. In the years that have followed, Miller has portrayed the character in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, Suicide Squad, and Justice League, but his solo film – which was initially set to be released in 2018 – never quite got off the ground. As The Flash movie has endured years of behind-the-scenes shake-ups and director changes, The Flash TV show has been trucking along for six seasons, familiarizing general audiences with the lore of Barry Allen in the process. With Gustin hinting earlier this year that the series was already beginning conversations around a potential Season 8 and Season 9. Assuming The Flash TV show gets to that point – and The Flash movie ends up making its June 2022 release date – there’s no reason why Miller and Gustin’s “Crisis” interaction couldn’t factor into the finished film, or at least be addressed in some way. Not only would the moment honor the legacy of both Barry Allens, but it would further legitimize Gustin’s tenure as the character by giving him his big-screen debut.
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