We’re in a weird place right now with upcoming DC movies. On the one hand, DC Studios heads James Gunn and Peter Safran recently unveiled the 10 of the projects that are making up the DC Universe franchise’s Chapter One, entitled “Gods and Monsters,” and that includes flicks like Superman: Legacy and Swamp Thing, with James Mangold being eyed to direct the latter. On the other hand, this year sees the release of four movies spearheaded by the previous DC Films regime, including The Flash. We have four months to go until the long-awaited arrival of the Scarlet Speedster’s solo movie, and it’s now being rumored that some characters are potentially being cut from the Ezra Miller-led blockbuster.
It’s been common knowledge for a while that The Flash will see the DC Extended Universe’s Barry Allen traveling to other universes after he brings unintended consequences to his timeline when he saves his mother from being murdered in the past. This will lead to him crossing paths with people like Michael Keaton’s Batman and Sasha Calle’s Supergirl, but Beyond the Trailer’s Grace Randolph claims that James Gunn has instructed The Flash’s team to remove all “character teases” from the ending of the movie.
As such, while Michael Keaton and Sasha Calle will still be involved in the main crux of The Flash’s story, Grace Randolph is hearing that both have been removed from the movie’s conclusion, as in there’s no setup for their characters having future adventures. Along with mentioning that Henry Cavill’s Superman and Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman have both been removed entirely from The Flash, Randolph shared that a “special cameo” featuring “a character from a long time ago” is being shot to potentially emphasize that Barry Allen “can go wherever he wants.” The Wrap reporter Umberto Gonzalez corroborated Randolph’s information on Twitter.
Director: Andy Muschietti
Writer: Christina Hodson
Cast: Ezra Miller, Kiersey Clemons, Michael Keaton, Sasha Calle, Ron Livingston, Michael Shannon, Antje Traue, Ben Affleck
Superman and Wonder Woman’s removal from The Flash had been reported in December, so while this is still not officially confirmed, now there’s another source alleging they won’t be seen anymore. Regarding Michael Keaton’s Batman and Sasha Calle’s Supergirl being excised from The Flash’s ending, assuming this is true, it’s not surprising. While there was a time when Keaton’s Batman was set to be incorporated into the DCEU (the actor shot scenes for the now-scrapped Batgirl movie), and there’s been talk of Calle’s Supergirl continuing on, that’s changed now with James Gunn and Peter Safran’s plan for the DC Universe. The Brave and the Bold will introduce a new Batman to operate within this shared universe, and Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow is expected to feature a different version of Kara Zor-El.
Despite these changes being made with only a handful of months to go until its release, there’s already a lot of positive buzz surrounding The Flash. The DC movie was reportedly “extraordinarily well received” in test screenings held last summer, and James Gunn said it was “one of the best superhero movies” he’s ever seen. It’s also important to mention that The Flash will reset the DCEU continuity and lay the foundational groundwork for the new DC Universe, which will kick off in the cinematic from in 2025 with Superman: Legacy.
The Flash hits theaters on June 16. You can rewatch Ezra Miller’s past DCEU appearances as Barry Allen with an HBO Max subscription, which includes the speedster’s cameo in the Peacemaker Season 1 finale.
