Warner Brothers has finally released the official trailer for The Flash film. And, I must say, it’s got me excited for DC movies…yet again. Oh, please James and Peter, don’t let me down! Though the film has had its behind-the-scenes drama the trailer looks pretty freakin’ exciting. And-the reason why most of us are here (admit it!)-it’s fun to see Michale Keaton don the cowl once again.
James Gunn, in a recent YouTube video explaining the future of the DCEU says that The Flash is an important film going forward. He said it will effectively, “reset the entire DC universe.” Which, y’know, is a good thing since that’s basically what has happened offscreen. The Flash movie is inspired by the 2011 DC comic book event Flashpoint. I didn’t read Flashpoint, but here’s a synopsis from someone who did:
[It’s] a story by Geoff Johns and artist Andy Kubert in which the DC Universe would reach a “flashpoint” – a moment of change that sparks much bigger rippling effects. In this case, that moment of change was caused by Barry Allen traveling back in time and preventing his arch-enemy Zoom from murdering his mother Nora, causing widespread changes to the entire DC Universe which made it all but unrecognizable to readers, and to Barry – who suddenly found himself the only person who remembered the world before he changed it.
-gamesradar.com
I consider this storyline will draw parallels to Dr. Strange and the Multiverse of Madness and the Loki Disney Plus series. In any event, Barry Allen (The Flash) pretty much messes up everything. As he says in the film’s trailer, “I broke the universe…”
Some surprises popped up in the trailer that I wasn’t expecting. Not only was I excited to see Keaton back as Batman, but I didn’t expect to see Ben Affleck reprising his role at the Caped Crusader in Barry’s current universe. And, while I knew enough to not expect to see Henry Cavill in any sort of way, I certainly didn’t know Supergirl was going to show up. I’m out of the loop when it comes to the current DC comics timeline, or continuity, so I’m not sure who this Supergirl in this universe is based on.
As the story goes in Flashpoint, when Superman lands on Earth-as an alien-he’s captured by the government and experimented on. In that universe, he never grew up on a small farm in Kansas. In the film, it appears they’re switching it up and having Supergirl fulfill that character arc. It’s a good chance she won’t exactly be the girl scout we all expect from the Kryptonian we’ve seen on screen before. But, again, that’s just an educated guess.
All said and done, it’s got me excited to see DC movies again. I also think it’s important if you can divorce yourself from the behind-the-scenes problems the film (and Warner Brothers Discover in general) have been dealing with. I’m planning to go in, wide eyed, ready for a good superhero romp. Gunn himself said, “…it’s one of the best superhero movies I’ve ever seen…” I’m holding you to that Gunn. I’m holding you to it!
I guess we’ll all see together. The Flash hits theaters June 16th, 2023.