Right on the heels of leaked photos of the 1989 Batmobile returning from the Tim Burton films, we now have confirmation of more than one Flash (or at least another Barry Allen) making an appearance in the course of the movie. Check out the details of this new leak from the 2022 The Flash movie set production!
Flash photography
There have been multiple leaks in the past month on the set of The Flash. Previously, these included first looks at Sasha Calle in full Supergirl costume and the new look of Michael Keaton’s older Bruce Wayne from the 1989 Batman film. More recently, the first glimpse of the legendary 1989 Batmobile from Batman and Batman Returns also circulated on social media (although DC Entertainment/Warner Bros. exercised their DMCA rights and had the images taken down). With every new snippet from the upcoming film fuelling anticipation and speculation, the newest one may reveal an interesting scenario regarding the multiverse trek that Barry Allen (Ezra Miller) will be making. The set photos that have been making the rounds on Twitter and other social media channels reveal scenes where Ezra’s Barry Allen is in conversation with an unidentified actor. What makes this noteworthy is that the said actor is the same body type and sports a similar hairdo that Miller has had in the past. Furthermore, the unidentified actor is wearing a harness that is usually used for motion and position tracking. This would imply that the actor will have some form of CGI applied in post-production for this scene.
— The Flash Film News (@FlashFilmNews) July 19, 2021
— hako (@harrishako) July 19, 2021 The actor is even wearing a similar clothing style as Miller’s Barry Allen has so far worn in the DCEU films Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and both versions of the Justice League movie. Given that Barry/The Flash will be using his Speed Force powers to travel the DCEU multiverse, this is a strong indication that he will be meeting at least one version of himself. However, it is unclear if this Barry Allen would be from an alternate timeline or a completely different universe. It is also unclear if this version of Barry would be a Flash as well, or simply a powerless civilian.
Multiple Flashes
The scenario of having more than one Flash that exists and can travel to other timelines or dimensions is not unusual. During the Silver Age of comics, DC Comics even had a tradition of having the Flashes of different worlds teaming up as an annual event. The first of these was from September, 1961 in the The Flash issue number 123. Written by Gardner Fox and art by Carmine Infantino, this was the first time that the Earth-1 Flash (Barry Allen) meets Earth-2 Flash (Jay Garrick). Prior to this issue, the Golden Age Flash was actually a comic book character in a meta-explanation that inspired Barry Allen to take the mantle after being hit by lightning that gave him his Speed Force connection. In later stories, particularly after the Crisis on Infinite Earths which merged multiple Earth histories, the idea of the Flash being a mantle that multiple speedster heroes adopt in different eras was embraced. In this case, Jay Garrick and Barry Allen exist in the same Earth and universe, but in different time periods. Later on, the mantle of the Flash would pass on to Wally West, Bart Allen, John Fox, and many others. This concept of different speedsters becoming the Flash has also appeared on other media. The most recent implementation of this concept in live-action is from the CW network and the Arrowverse version of the Flash (Grant Gustin). Interestingly, Ezra Miller’s DCEU Flash also guest starred and met Gustin’s Flash in one episode of the Crisis on Infinite Earth crossover from 2019. What makes this even more interesting is that there is an unconfirmed rumor that Grant Gustin will return the favor and cameo in the 2022 Flash film.
Reverse-Flash?
On the topic of rumors, there is another recent rumor about the plot - that Ezra Miller will also be playing the Reverse-Flash. In the comic books, the Reverse-Flash is from the far future and named Eobard Thawne aka Professor Zoom. Unlike Barry Allen, Thawne gave himself super-speed through the use of high technology. After suffering defeats against the heroic Flash, the Reverse-Flash swore vengeance and to be a constant thorn in Barry Allen’s side. In the Bronze Age of comic books, this culminated in the death of Barry’s wife, Iris West. After later retcons, the Reverse-Flash continued to be one of The Flash’s most dangerous enemies. But the most famous storyline Thawne had a hand in is Flashpoint. In it, Thawne decides to murder Barry’s mother Nora Allen in the past. Barry saves his mother, but also causes a butterfly effect, altering the course of events in the main DC universe. Ultimately, Flash chose to prevent his past self from saving Nora, changing the timeline again, but to a more benevolent future. If it is indeed true that Miller will be playing the Reverse-Flash, it would be appropriate. After all, The Flash film is using plot threads from the Flashpoint story with some creative alterations, particularly with the major characters involved. While we have not seen set details to confirm this, it would certainly make sense to have the Flash’s nemesis be involved. Having the Reverse-Flash be another version of Barry Allen may be a logical choice to simplify the proceedings, instead of the complicated 25th century origins of Eobard Thawne. Produced by DC Entertainment/Warner Bros. Pictures, The Flash stars Ezra Miller as Barry Allen/The Flash, Michael Keaton and Ben Affleck as Bruce Wayne/Batman, Sasha Calle as Supergirl, and Kiersey Clemons as Iris West. Directed by Andy Muschetti, it is set to be relasesd November 4, 2022.
