The Flash: Studio Switch-Ups Saw The Film's Ending Change Multiple Times During Production
Contains spoilers for "The Flash."
In the new DC superhero tale "The Flash," Barry Allen-The Flash (Ezra Miller) finds out that whizzing back to the past to save his mother from dying drastically alters history moving forward. However, Barry's quandary becomes more complicated as he enters alternate timelines on Earth, where he meets his younger self and different iterations of the characters he previously partnered with in the Justice League.
The multiverse angle, of course, allowed director Andy Muschietti to tap into the DC movie vault at Warner Bros. As such, the filmmaker was able to bring back Michael Keaton's version of Bruce Wayne-Batman from director Tim Burton's "Batman" movies and craft the story to replace Henry Cavill's version of Superman with Sasha Calle as Supergirl. In addition, the multiverse approach allowed Michael Shannon's General Zod — who died at the hands of Cavill's Superman in "Man of Steel" in 2013 — to get another crack at taking over Earth in "The Flash."
As a result, Barry desperately tries to reset his timeline and return to his version of Earth. While his efforts first appear successful, he's surprised to see that a superhero from a previous DC film makes a stunning appearance to conclude the film.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the conclusion viewers are getting in "The Flash" is actually the last of three endings filmed by Muschietti, which transpired under three different sets of leaders at Warner Bros. THR said the first ending was filmed under the auspices of Warner Bros. chief Toby Emmerich and DC boss Walter Hamada; the second transpired under studio chairpersons and CEOs Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy; and the third happened under the watch of current DC Studios co-CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran.
The first two endings changed the course of events for two major Flash characters
THR said the first ending for "The Flash," which was filmed during Toby Emmerich and Walter Hamada's tenure at Warner Bros., revealed that Barry Allen-The Flash's attempt to reset the timeline didn't happen. As such, Michael Keaton's Batman and Sasha Calle's Supergirl — who died at the hands of Michael Shannon's General Zod in the final version of "The Flash" — ended up surviving and appeared on the courthouse steps after a pivotal hearing involving Barry at the end of the film. THR said this version was actually seen by test audiences "several times."
However, the first version of the ending was tossed in 2022 when Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy took the reigns of Warner Bros. after the studio merged with Discovery, THR said. As a result, the publication noted, a new courthouse steps scene was filmed that included Keaton and Calle, as well as Henry Cavill's Superman and Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman. The addition of the latter two DC stars was deemed a "strategic" move by the new studio bosses, THR said since Cavill was poised to make a cameo turn in Dwayne Johnson's "Black Adam" and a third "Wonder Woman" movie was in development. However, Andy Muschietti was forced to return to the drawing board again, as the second "Flash" ending was thrown out when James Gunn and Peter Safran were brought aboard.
The third ending was finally the charm for The Flash
When James Gunn and Peter Safran announced their DC Universe reboot in January 2023, it became clear that much of what was created by DC directors Zack Snyder and Patty Jenkins would not be part of the new DC Universe. The news wasn't too big of a surprise, though, since fans in December 2022 learned Henry Cavill wouldn't return as Superman and plans for "Wonder Woman 3" were reportedly being scrapped. Luckily for Gadot fans, her Wonder Woman remained in the DC fold with cameos in "Shazam! Fury of the Gods" and "The Flash."
Gadot's turn in the final version of "The Flash" didn't come in the last scene but in the film's first act. In addition, the deaths of Keaton's Batman and Supergirl by General Zod earlier in the film stayed intact, and Cavill's Superman was no longer a factor. Instead, Gunn and Safran pulled off perhaps the biggest surprise of the film when Ezra Miller's Barry first talks to Bruce Wayne by phone as the billionaire made his way to the courthouse, only to see George Clooney's iteration of the character emerge from a limousine and exclaim, "Who the f**k are you?"
According to THR, Gunn, and Safran thought landing Clooney to reprise his role as Bruce Wayne-Batman was unlikely, but the actor agreed to make the appearance after he liked what he saw in the nearly completed version of "The Flash." THR said that Clooney shot the cameo with Miller in January. Warner Bros. kept such a tight lid on the "Batman & Robin" star's appearance that the scene wasn't even revealed to theater owners when the film screened at CinemaCon in April.
"The Flash" is currently in theaters.