The Flash Director Confirms Who Killed Barry's Mom
Contains spoilers for "The Flash"
As "The Flash" races into theaters, it can't quite outrun the negative reviews trailing behind. The revitalizing installment in the DC Universe offers a glimmer of hope for the future of the Justice League with a colorful reset featuring the Scarlet Speedster. However, the film omits a crucial detail from Barry's (Ezra Miller) harrowing origin story by neglecting to show his archenemy Reverse-Flash, aka Eobard Thawne, which director Andy Muschietti revealed to be the murderer of his loving mother.
"The Flash" features a dazzling number of heroes and familiar faces, like Michael Keaton's iconic Batman, as a formidable staple of the time-traveling tale. It also delivers a double dose of Ezra Miller as they play both the hero and surprising antagonist that even rivals the return of General Zod (Michael Shannon). Together, they work to free the imprisoned Kryptonian, introducing the standout performer Sasha Calle as the mighty Supergirl.
These mindblowing multiversal mashups occur after Barry runs back in time to avert his mother Nora's (Maribel Verdú) premature death. Though Muschietti never showed the Reverse Flash commit the heinous act onscreen, he addressed the supervillain's role in an insightful interview with The Playlist, "Well, Reverse Flash is the elephant in the room, right?" The director stated. "It feels like you can't make another movie without addressing the one that, in all accounts, is the murderer of Barry's mom." This revelation sets up a possible sequel and identifies the evil culprit that set Barry off on his heroic destiny.
The death of Barry's mom is crucial to his path on becoming The Flash
The death of Barry's mother kickstarts the events that eventually lead him to become the red-clad superhero. Without any other suspects (as the real culprit was gone in a flash), Barry's father, Henry (Ron Livingston), is wrongly blamed for her murder and subsequently incarcerated. This injustice propels Barry to pursue a career in criminal justice, where he receives his life-changing powers while working in his lab.
When he tries to go back and reverse her death, he's knocked into an alternate timeline with a younger Barry on the cusp of becoming a superhero. Barry helps his younger self obtain his speedster abilities and loses his powers in the process. This causes the two heroes to desperately recruit the other members of the Justice League, where they unexpectedly run into Michael Keaton's Batman.
By meddling with time, especially a moment so formative to his story, Barry unravels a messy concoction of other possibilities, which is why Andy Muschietti and his wife Barbara were keen to include Keaton's Batman. She told The Playlist, "I'm going to be brutally candid, we told him, 'We can't make this movie without you.'" She continued. "We can't because he was such an integral part of the story. He thought about it a little bit, and then he said yes. He loved the script." Barbara Muschietti extensively praised both Keaton and Ben Affleck for picking up the Batman cowl once more, which made for an unforgettable and exciting experience, even without the villainous Reverse Flash.
Reverse Flash will most likely be the villain for the possible sequel
As director Andy Muschietti teased, the Reverse Flash will likely be Barry's next challenge in a possible sequel, which will finally find him face-to-face with his mother's killer. His archenemy has many identities that consistently haunt the red speedster though his reason for murdering Barry's mother is usually the same. Unfortunately, Nora is a casualty of circumstance as the Reverse Flash initially intended to kill Barry before he could become the Flash, thereby eradicating his longtime foe. However, this incident instead creates the Flash, which puts the two in a similar paradox as the film's portrayal of Barry and Dark Flash.
Because of the time-travel elements, the film had a long production cycle which Muschietti broke down with The Playlist, "It was a long process. The first draft was excellent, but then the production happened, and Ezra Miller came in, and that added another layer of brilliance to the equation. And that started a new journey of exploration. The movie changed during the shoot. And it's crazy to think that we're shooting a movie in a not very chronological way, and we managed to track every emotional beat upside down. But Ezra is very committed to story and character, and we had a lot of fun exploring things that were in the script and things that were not in the script."
Though "The Flash" unfortunately bombed at the box office, fans are hopeful for a sequel that will pit Barry against his notorious foe and other fearsome enemies. Muschietti added, "I have my own favorites, but that's another story – I'd like to see The Turtle at some point. The slowest man on Earth. Gorilla Grodd, of course. And many more."