Call it superhero fatigue. Call it DC apathy. Call it whatever you want. But prior to the first trailer revealed today, we weren’t particularly keen on seeing Andres Muschietti’s The Flash starring Ezra Miller as the titular speedster.
Employing the tried and true formula of exploiting generational nostalgia, the latest instalment of DC’s reformation-period connected franchise under James Gunn and Peter Safran is essentially the MCU rival’s Spider-Man: No Way Home moment. And gosh golly… they’ve got us hooked.
As confirmed by earlier reports, both Ben Affleck and Michael Keaton reprise their roles as Bruce Wayne / Batman; the latter hailing from an alternate universe where metahumans no longer exist, thanks to the reality-breaking shenanigans of Miller’s Barry Allen / Flash.
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Additionally, you can expect crossover experiences from Michael Shannon as General Zod – who you may recall was controversially killed by Henry Cavill in Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel – alongside Antje Traue as his second-in-command Faora-Ul; ostensibly the big bads of the movie. Sasha Calle makes her debut as fellow Kryptonian castaway Kara Zor-El / Supergirl.
The aforementioned names are (re)joined by Ron Livingston as Barry’s father Henry Allen, Kiersey Clemmons as journalist and love interest Iris West, Maribel Verdu as Barry’s deceased mother Nora Allen, and for some reason, Boba Fett star Temuera Morrison as Aquaman’s father Thomas Curry.
Andy Muschietti has directed based on the screenplay penned by Christina Hodson (Bumblebee, Birds of Prey).
The Flash release date has been slated for June 16th of 2023 – check out the trailer above.
