Barry Allen's life was plagued by Earth-2 villain Zoom throughout Season 2, culminating in a tension-depleting foot race that picked up dramatic speed when the Time Wraiths arrived and ripped Hunter Zolomon out of existence. Or, at least, they ripped him in a specific way that made him resemble the comic book character Black Flash. Was that a definite indicator that we'll see the death-infused speedster in Season 3 or beyond? Here's how executive producer Andrew Kreisberg put it.
Obviously we did that on purpose. We love working with Teddy [Sears]. He's such an amazing actor and amazing person, and was so much a part of the success of this show last season. There aren't any immediate plans for that, but you can't keep a good Black Flash down, so I'm sure we'll be seeing him in the future.
That's kind of a pisser, Mr. Kreisberg. Not that I had my heart set on getting Black Flash in live-action, since he's kind of a strange being that primetime dramas don't usually write for, but it's kind of like Chekov's Gun, right? If you see a gun in the first act, and it's being held by a transdimensional personification of Death, then both things better come up again in the final act. Not that Season 3 will be the final act of The Flash, but still.
One has to wonder what the guiding light behind this decision is. Teddy Sears is currently tapped as a lead for the upcoming 24: Legacy spinoff, he's returning for an episode of Masters of Sex, and he's also filming the Catherine Eaton drama Liv. That's a pretty full schedule, and it's possible the actor just didn't have time to make it back to The Flash during any early point in the season. Which is fine, since Flashpoint should give viewers enough to wrap their heads around without needing to introduce another strange entity.
Oddly enough, set photos seem to have revealed Black Racer coming to Season 3, and Black Racer is another Death avatar within Flash's comic world. It stands to reason that the producers would have gotten Sears back as Black Flash for whatever that scenario is, but had to opt for a substitution. Or maybe they were fine with bringing in another character, since this show is definitely known for that.
Now, Kreisberg did tell EW that we'll probably see him in the future, and while that's not a promise, it's as good as one. We know Season 3 is giving us a double dose of big bads with speedster baddie Savitar and Doctor Alchemy, as well as a slew of other villains coming on a more temporary basis. Not to mention all the other new characters we'll be meeting. So while there's always room for more comic book weirdness on The Flash, it's okay if we have to wait a while to make Black Flash happen.
The Flash Season 3 will zip round and round your TVs on Tuesday, October 4, at 8:00 p.m. ET. To see when everything else is coming later this year, check out our fall premiere schedule.
