Who is the villain in ‘The Flash’ movie?

Next month, The Flash movie will finally, at long last, be coming out after years of development and about a decade of trying to get it off the ground in the DCU. It has cycled through directors, some actors, and now, many wonder who its villain actually is.

For those who have not given much attention to the release, it does not appear at this time that star Ezra Miller is going to be the antagonist in the time-bending story. Miller made headlines recently for a wave of misdeeds a crewmember on the superhero epic claims the public will eventually forget, and in trailers, it appears Barry Allen messes with the timeline to the extent that Michael Shannon’s General Zod is no longer dead and there are few, if any, good people to stand against him. Indeed, it appears the only ones who are available are Michael Keaton’s Batman, Sasha Calle’s Kara Zor-El/Supergirl (who seems to be imprisoned at one point), and a version of Miller’s Allen who seems to have longer hair. Standard, to be sure, but there could also be a twist afoot.

In the comic source material, there is a version of Allen from the future who is on the dark side of the DC Comics character spectrum. Dubbed Future Flash (not the most creative name, we know) and hailing from another point in time, this Flash has no qualms about executing his enemies. A version of the character does appear on The Flash television series, and, if merchandise leaks turn out to be accurate, there could be a Dark Flash in the story who is out to steal the souls of the speedster heroes.

Of course, it is also the case pre-release merchandise information can turn out to be inaccurate, so, for now, the best thing anyone who may be interested in the movie can do is to take these points with massive grains of salt. After all, movies can change even after their initial release (see Stanley Kubrick and The Shining) and, given how recent marketing has de-emphasized Miller to the frustration of those who loathe too much nostalgia and Gunn’s lack of commitment to Miller returning, edits could have happened.

The Flash movie opens on June 16. It is directed by Andy Muschietti and follows Barry Allen as he travels back in time to prevent his mother’s murder, which traps him in an alternate reality without metahumans. Others in the cast include Ben Affleck as his version of Batman, Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman (barring any cuts in the editing room), and Ron Livingston as Henry Allen in addition.