Of all the juicy tidbits that came out of Comic-Con this year, none raised more eyebrows than Warner Bros.’ announcement regarding the upcoming Flash movie. Seen as one of the most troubled pre-productions of the DCEU so far, fans didn’t quite know what to expect going into the panel. While a new director wasn’t announced, though many expected one to be, Warner Bros. still dropped a major bombshell simply by revealing the title of the project: Flashpoint.
For those that don’t know, Flashpoint was a comic book event that saw the Flash go back in time to save his mother, only to create massive time ripples that changed the entire future. When the hero returned to his own timeline, he found the Atlanteans and Amazonians locked in a bitter war, Superman’s pod crashed in the middle of a city instead of a Kansas cornfield, and Bruce Wayne as the one killed in the alley that fateful night, leading his mother to go crazy and become The Joker while Thomas Wayne became Batman. Heavy stuff, for sure.
When it was all over, the event let DC reboot their entire universe and essentially start over with The New 52. It was a controversial move (one that’s slowly being retconned with the current Rebirth storyline), but it allowed DC to give new backstories and origins to a lot of characters whose arcs had hit dead ends.
So, what does this mean for the DCEU? To say that the first few entries in this cinematic universe have been polarizing is an understatement, and there are many who wish DC would just reboot and start over. There are dozens of reasons why that’s a terrible idea, but the company could definitely be positioning Flashpoint as a way to right some of their wrongs without completely relaunching a brand new universe.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at all the changes that Flashpoint could make to the DCEU going forward.
