The Flash - Everything You Need To Know

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The history of the DCU has been ... complicated. It started off with Zack Snyder holding the reins, and now, James Gunn and Peter Safran are crafting a whole new era for the franchise. But in this pre-"Gods and Monsters" chapter of the DC Universe, there are still a few more films set in the remnants of Snyder's world. For example, there's "The Flash," one of the most anticipated and controversial superhero movies in recent memory.

The film will tell the story of Barry Allen (Ezra Miller), a man with the ability to tap into the Speed Force. Through the Speed Force, Barry has become the fastest man alive, The Flash, and a successful superhero. Despite this, Barry still laments the murder of his mother (Maribel Verdú) during his childhood, which led to the false arrest and imprisonment of his dad (Ron Livingston). In going back in time to try to prevent her death, Barry changes the entire DC Universe timeline. Barry and a doppelgänger traverse this new and far darker timeline, rife with new and old allies and threats.

The Flash first appeared in the DCU way back in "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice," and it's taken quite a while for the Scarlet Speedster to get his own film. But now that Barry Allen is about to accelerate into theaters, what can we expect from this highly praised yet divisive film? "The Flash" promises to be DC's biggest outing yet, which fans are eager to see as soon as possible. So before you speed into theaters this summer, here's everything you need to know about "The Flash."

If you've seen "Zack Snyder's Justice League" or an episode of The CW's "Flash" TV series, then you know the Scarlet Speedster can travel through time if he runs fast enough, entering the Speed Force. Of course, while this skill comes in hand every so often, it can also have some pretty disastrous consequences — something Barry Allen will find out the hard way in his upcoming solo film.

As the official plot synopsis reads, "Worlds collide in 'The Flash' when Barry uses his superpowers to travel back in time in order to change the events of the past." The hero wants to save his murdered mom from her tragic fate, but his time-traveling plan majorly backfires, resetting the future. "Barry becomes trapped in a reality in which General Zod has returned, threatening annihilation, and there are no superheroes to turn to."

After running into an alternate version of himself, the two Barrys realize there is one hero that might be able to join their fight against "Man of Steel's" Zod (Michael Shannon) — a retired Batman, who happens to look a whole lot like Michael Keaton. As the plot reads, Barry will also need to "rescue an imprisoned Kryptonian ... albeit not the one he's looking for." Spoiler alert — it's Supergirl (Sasha Calle), and she looks like she's ready to mess some bad guys up.

Of course, defeating Zod and putting things back in order won't be that easy. As the synopsis reveals, "Ultimately, to save the world that he is in and return to the future that he knows, Barry's only hope is to race for his life. But will making the ultimate sacrifice be enough to reset the universe?"

The DCU has played host to a group of incredibly talented directors, from Zack Snyder and James Gunn to Patty Jenkins and Cathy Yan. And now, Andy Muschietti will be joining their ranks, as the filmmaker is helming "The Flash."

Of course, it took Warner Bros. a long time to pick Muschietti. When "The Flash" was officially announced back in 2018, Seth Grahame-Smith (the writer of "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter") was set to direct, although he eventually left over creative differences. Grahame-Smith was followed by Rick Famuyiwa of "Dope," who eventually departed for similar reasons and wound up a major player on "The Mandalorian." After Famuyiwa departed, the studio turned to John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein, now probably best known for "Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves."

However, Ezra Miller allegedly wanted something darker than Daley and Goldstein were aiming for, so they were eventually replaced by Muschietti. Similar to DCU compatriots David F. Sandberg and James Wan, Muschietti got his start in horror, directing Jessica Chastain in the incredibly eerie "Mama." The filmmaker then truly made his mark, bringing Pennywise to terrifying life in "IT" and "IT Chapter Two."

We'll be interested to see if Muschietti brings any of his horror cred into "The Flash," but we do know he'll be bringing big emotions, as the director told Order 67, "'The Flash' is a very special story. Yes, it's a superhero movie, but it has a heart and a soul, it has emotion."

While comic book movies often put their own twist on the source material, they usually do draw some inspiration from the original comic books. Take "The Flash," for instance, which is borrowing from 2011's "Flashpoint," by Geoff Johns and Andy Kubert. In fact, at one point, the film was going to be named "Flashpoint," although the studio eventually decided to go with the much simpler "The Flash."

So, what happens in the "Flashpoint" comic? Well, similar to the film, Barry Allen zooms back in time and rescues his mother. When he returns to the present-day, Nora Allen is still alive, but everything else has fallen apart. Bruce Wayne was shot dead as a child, leading his father to become a more violent Dark Knight and his mother to become the new Joker. Superman was locked up by scientists the moment he landed on Earth, and the nations of Themyscira and Atlantis are throwing down.

Obviously, there have been some substantial changes here. In the film, Bruce Wayne is very much alive and looking a lot like Michael Keaton. There's no Superman to be seen, but based on the trailer, it does look like Supergirl is filling that role, as it appears she's been imprisoned for quite some time. Another big difference is the villain. In the film, Zod appears to be the primary threat. In the comics, it's Reverse Flash aka Eobard Thawne. However, the "Flash" trailer does seem to give at least a nod to the classic bad guy. Fans of CW's "The Flash" series will remember Thawne sports a yellow suit, similar to Barry's. In the trailer for 2023's "The Flash," we see alternate Barry wearing a whole lot of yellow, so perhaps Reverse Flash might be secretly scheming the whole time.

We know that General Zod is going to be a pretty serious problem in "The Flash," but will he be the only bad guy? We suspect that won't be the case. Andy Muschietti's superhero movie is drawing heavily from the "Flashpoint" story arc, where evil speedster Eobard Thawne/Reverse Flash is the ultimate villain. Based on the trailers — where Barry #2 is seen wearing a whole lot of yellow — we've wondered if Reverse Flash might be the secret villain of the film, but now, we suspect there might be another speedster in the mix.

In March 2023, McFarlane Toys released some official "Flash" merchandise, with one of their figures depicting a menacing figure by the name of Dark Flash. In the comics, Dark Flash is actually an alternate version of hero Wally West, known as Walter West. Hailing from another timeline, Dark Flash is an incredibly brutal character, having gone mad after the loss of someone he loved. While we don't believe Wally or Walter West will factor into the film, it's possible that Barry No. 2 might secretly be Dark Flash or that there's a third Barry Allen out there, wearing a very scary suit and with bad plans for our hero.

When it comes to "The Flash," the topic that must unfortunately be addressed is the bizarre and frankly off-putting situation regarding Ezra Miller. Miller has been a sensitive topic for a good while now, dominating news headlines for much of 2022.

Things really began in January 2022, with Miller calling out and threatening the Ku Klux Klan in a video, saying, "I suggest just killing yourselves with your own guns." Two months later, Miller was arrested at a bar in Hawaii, eventually pleading no contest to the charge in court, subsequently paying a $500 fine. Later, Miller allegedly threatened a couple in their own home in March 2022 and was arrested for second-degree assault just a month later.

In June 2022, Miller was in concerning back-to-back headlines, with three different parents accusing Miller of grooming their kids. In August of that same summer, Miller was accused of burglary in Vermont, before finally addressing their behaviors publicly. Miller said, "I want to apologize to everyone that I have alarmed and upset with my past behavior." The actor's full list of controversies and arrests involves incidents in Iceland and alarming conditions on their Vermont property. It wasn't until April 2023 that Andy Muschietti, the director of "The Flash," finally commented on his lead's recent illegal escapades. Muschietti said, "They're dealing with mental health issues, but they're well. We talked to them not too long ago, and they're very committed to getting better."

One thing very evident from the trailers already released for "The Flash" is the return of Michael Keaton as Batman. With Ezra Miller's reputation still on the rocks, it definitely makes sense for Warner Bros. to reorient their promotion of the film around Keaton. Only time will tell as to if his comeback will do justice to his original back-to-back portrayals in Tim Burton's "Batman" duology. However, what's worth mentioning here is how originally this role in "The Flash" wasn't the only stop for Keaton on his DC Universe comeback tour.

Keaton's version of the Dark Knight was originally set to appear in the live-action "Batgirl" movie, with Leslie Grace in the title role. We say "originally" because the film was scrapped amidst the Warner Media and Discovery merger, allegedly for cost-saving measures. This was the first of many live-action and animated projects catapulted into the shadow realm as tax write-offs by the company. Given the lack of any completed footage available publicly, it's a bit difficult to gauge just how major Keaton's role would've been. However, we can definitely confirm his presence due to a photo of Keaton on set, in his costume, alongside Grace and one of the film's directors, Adil El Arbi.

Over the years, the Scarlet Speedster has seen more than a few live-action interpretations of his iconic red and yellow costume. There have been stellar translations, such as John Wesley Shipp's corny yet timeless outfit in the 1990s television series. Grant Gustin's first few onscreen suits on the long-running CW series were a welcome update for the character's appearance. However, not every retooling of the classic suit has been tremendous, with many feeling like bargain bin Halloween costumes. Who could forget Flash's costume from Season 5 of the CW series, where his bulky helmet made him look more like Turbo Man from "Jingle All The Way"?

There's also his most recent costume from his appearances in the previous version of the DCU, which is a bit of a mixed bag visually. While definitely a unique look, the "Justice League" outfit is a bit too busy for its own good, sporting extra crevices and bits of exposed metal. The future version of "The Flash" we glimpse in "Batman v Superman" is even busier in this regard, the pulsating metal looking more like repurposed tank parts than a streamlined speedster suit. This upcoming film seems to update this suit, keeping the lines but swapping its color scheme to a brighter yellow. The suit is also less mechanical-looking now and feels more like a suit specifically built for Barry's physical build. Given the appearance of Ben Affleck's Bruce Wayne in a recent trailer, perhaps these upgrades have come courtesy of Wayne Industries tech.

Amidst the discussions of how major a reset "The Flash" will ultimately be, there have been a few reported changes made en route to the film's release. Given the multiverse-centered plot line of the film, many DC fans have been speculating as to if there will be some major cameos. We've already seen glimpses of Michael Keaton and Ben Affleck's respective Batmen, but Michael Shannon's General Zod is back in the saddle as well.

However, alongside these confirmed appearances there seem to be some cameos that, for various reasons, have been trashed. We already mentioned how an apparently planned cameo for Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman has been left on the cutting room floor, but it doesn't end there. In 2022, one of the bigger pieces of superhero news was the return and subsequent re-dismissal of Henry Cavill in the role of Superman. It seems Dwayne Johnson was particularly set on Black Adam's nemesis being the Man of Steel and not Shazam like it is in the comics. This resulted in a cameo from Cavill, back in his original suit, in the post-credits scene of "Black Adam." However, among the many changes made due to James Gunn's new creative direction, Cavill was once again dismissed from the role. A side effect of this is a cameo from Cavill originally planned for "The Flash" has, much like Gal Gadot's appearance, been canned.

However — major, major spoilers incoming, so don't read the next few sentences if you want to avoid them — that doesn't mean we won't be seeing Superman. In a shocking turn of events, director Andy Muschietti told Esquire Middle East that the one and only Nicolas Cage will be donning the red-and-blue tights in a cameo appearance. It's widely known that Cage almost played the Man of Steel in Tim Burton's "Superman Lives," but that film never came to pass. Now, Cage will get his big Superman moment thanks to all the multiversal shenanigans.

"The Flash" has been one of Hollywood's more anticipated blockbusters for quite some time, and it's not hard to see why. Between the changeups at Warner Media, James Gunn's impending DC Universe, and Ezra Miller's controversial few years, it's had a bumpy ride to its release. With all of these factors, it definitely began to seem like this movie, much like "Batgirl," would never see the light of day. However, despite all these roadblocks, the film is still on track for release, having just debuted at a CinemaCon exclusive screening.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav, who reportedly saw the film three times, said, "It's the best superhero movie I've ever seen." In fairness, this comment comes from the head of the company releasing the film, so this is more than a little biased. A few other critics have spoken quite highly of the film though, with Rotten Tomatoes' Erik Davis tweeting, " [It's] Everything you want from a superhero film & more." ScreenRant's Rob Keyes tweeted, "It is indeed one of DC's best and fits nicely as a bridge story between the old and new DCEU franchises." Finally, Gizmodo's Germain Lussier tweeted, "It's Back to the Future meets Spider-Man: No Way Home with all the humor & heart of the former and action and surprises of the latter."