DC is quietly continuing with its plans for a cinematic universe for their heroes, andThe Flashis a crucial part of the puzzle as a founding member of the Justice League and a popular hero in his own right with a hit CW show. Recently, director of the upcoming soloFlashmovie Andy Muschietti dropped this hint about the plot while speaking to That Hashtag Show.
[The movie will be a] different version ofFlashpointthan you’re expecting.
The statement fromAndres Muschietticonfirms what fans have been saying ever since the film was first announced.Flashpointis arguably the most famous storyline from Flash comics ever conceived, and it has already been adapted for DC animation and the CW show.
In the comics,Flashpointis a storyline where the speed force becomes the key to the comic universe’s reality becoming heavily altered, and Flash must use his command of the force to reset reality to the way things were, in the process erasing certain aspects of the original universe and giving birth to the New 52 lineup of heroes with slightly altered appearances and origins.
Despite the plot and main actor already locked down, the Flash’s solo movie has been a long time coming. Whispers about changing directors, star-cast and even the title have been doing the rounds of DC fandom all the way back to 2017. More importantly,Flashpointis consideredan important story for the DC film universebecause it is believed to be a reset button of sorts for the DCeU, removing less well-received elements from continuity likeBatman V Supermanwhile retaining popular aspects, like Aquaman, Shazam and Wonder Woman’s solo films.
It is strongly rumored that new actors will take on the role of Batman and Superman post-flashpoint, with the altered reality brought about by the Flash’s actions during Flashpoint being the reason behind their changed appearance.
All of this is conjecture at this point, and Andy Muschietti’s hint as to a new take onFlashpointimplies the movie may choose to go in a completely new and unexpected direction. We already know from theJustice Leaguemovie that the Flash is able to use his speed to travel through time. Perhaps this will be used as a jumping-off point to show the Flash going back in time to change a crucial aspect of history which creates a new version of the DCeU.
In a lot of ways, this is essentially the same plot asAvengers: Endgame, where the heroes traveled back in time, and in doing so drastically altered their present reality. Perhaps it is to distance itself fromEndgameand avoid comparisons that Flashpoint’s story is being changed into something new and never seen before.
The Flash movie is coming in summer 2022. After such a long wait, DC and Warner Bros. will have to work extra hard to make the movie Flash relevant to general audiences when his only previous appearance was in the poorly-receivedJustice League. But asAquaman’s billion-dollar gross has proven, in the right hands, DC’s heroes can be very compelling to audiences and challenge the MCU’s dominance.
