Over the last year,The Flashhas quickly gone from a mildly intriguing solo adventure to one of the most exciting comic book movie prospects on the DC roster. Well, director Andy Muschietti has now further teased the scope of the movie while making an appearance at this year’s virtualCCXPevent saying, thatThe Flash"will take you to a place where the DC Universe hasn’t gone before, so it’s very exciting."
“I can’t wait to tell you more, but for now, I want to thank you for the support and for being such amazing fans,” he concluded. While his update regardingThe Flashwas so quick that it would make TheScarlet Speedsterhimself blush, the brief hint at things to come certainly tracks with everything that has been revealed about the movie so far.
The Flashwill reportedly take inspiration from the comic book arcThe Flashpoint Paradox, which sees the Fastest Man Alive travel back in time to save his mother. However, his meddling with time finds the Flash emerging in a bleaker universe in which the Amazons and Atlanteans are involved in an all-out war that has left the planet destroyed. This alternate version of theDC universefinds Bruce Wayne dead, killed at the hands of the same criminal who murders his parents in the original timeline. This leads to Thomas Wayne taking up the mantle of Batman, and applying his own, much more violent tactics.
Excitingly,both Michael Keaton and Ben Affleck will be returningto the role ofBatman, with fans left to wonder how the two very different versions of the Dark Knight will factor into proceedings. Many have speculated that Affleck will bookend the movie in the original timeline, with Keaton’sBatmantaking the place of Thomas Wayne in the alternate one.
The FlashfindsItandIt: Chapter TwodirectorAndy Muschiettiat the helm, with the filmmaker revealing several details regarding Affleck’s role in the movie saying, “His Batman has a dichotomy that is very strong which is his masculinity-because of the way he looks, and the imposing figure that he has, and his jawline -but he’s also very vulnerable. He knows how to deliver from the inside out, that vulnerability. He just needs a story that allows him to bring that contrast, that balance.”
Muschietti added that Affleck’s Bruce Wayne is “a very substantial part of the emotional impact of the movie. The interaction and relationship between Barry and Affleck’s Wayne will bring an emotional level that we haven’t seen before. It’s Barry’s movie, it’s Barry’s story, but their characters are more related than we think. They both lost their mothers to murder, and that’s one of the emotional vessels of the movie. That’s where the Affleck Batman kicks in.”
Alongside the two very different versions ofBatman, rumors persist that the movie will also feature the likes of Gal Gadot’sWonder Woman, and even bring back prior versions of DC heroes such as Brandon Routh’sSupermanand Christian Bale’sBatmanas well as introduce versions that never were such as Nicolas Cage asSuperman.
Sadly, audiences have a long time to wait before seeing how exactlyThe Flash"will take you to a place where the DC Universe hasn’t gone before," with the movie not scheduled for release until 4th November 2022. Andy Muschietti made these comments during a virtual appearance at this year’sCCXP event.
