As is obvious from the way that James Gunn can’t stop hyping it up on social media, The Flash is being pushed as the first stepping stone on the road to the shiny, new rebooted DCU. At the same time, however, it’s also something of a last hurrah for the old DCEU, also known as the SnyderVerse, whose continuity will officially be erased by the Scarlet Speedster tampering with time in the movie.
The most obvious connection with the SnyderVerse is Ezra Miller returning as said speedster, with their Barry mostly being paired with Sasha Calle’s Supergirl and Michael Keaton’s Batman over the course of the film. Nevertheless, there are many familiar faces from the DCEU dropping by alongside them. Even if one or two have been recast — Ron Livingstone replacing Billy Crudup as Barry’s dad Henry Allen, for instance.
There may well be more once we get to see the movie upon its opening in theaters on June 16, but here’s every SnyderVerse actor known to be in The Flash to date.
Ezra Miller (x2)
Remember when the internet theorized Warner Bros. would be forced to remove Ezra Miller from The Flash after their alarming legal troubles? In actual fact, the studio went in the opposite direction and we’re getting a double-helping of the controversial actor thanks to them playing both the DCEU’s Barry Allen and his multiversal doppelganger from the Earth of Michael Keaton’s Bruce Wayne.
Ben Affleck
Yes, it’s no secret that Ben Affleck will don the cape and cowl one last time as the Dark Knight in The Flash, wrapping up his long and complicated history with the DCEU in the process. Affleck has confirmed he’s done with Batman after this and has no intention of appearing in James Gunn’s DCU, leaving a new actor to be found for upcoming film The Brave and the Bold.
Jeremy Irons
We had no idea Jeremy Irons would be back as Alfred Pennyworth in The Flash until a recent trailer went and spoiled his cameo. This will mark Irons’ third cinematic appearance as Batman’s butler following Batman v Superman and Justice League. Plus, if you count the Snyder Cut as it’s own thing, that means he beats Michael Caine and matches Michael Gough as the most storied movie Alfred!
Kiersey Clemons
Kiersey Clemons appeared as Barry Allen’s love interest Iris West in Zack Snyder’s Justice League, but The Flash will see the star make her long-awaited cinematic debut as the character. Kudos to Clemons, she managed to stick around the movie as production changed hands over and over — she was originally cast by then-director Rick Famuyiwa way back in 2016.
Michael Shannon
Thanks to Barry’s aforementioned temporal hijinks, The Flash will bring the DCEU full circle by causing the events of Man of Steel to play out again, with Michael Shannon once again back as General Zod as the Kryptonian warlord invades Earth — this time, with only Calle’s Kara Zor-El to stop him. Hilariously, Zod’s multiversal resurrection left Shannon completely mystified.
Antje Traue
In Man of Steel, where Zod went his vicious right-hand woman, Kryptonian soldier Faora-Ul, was never far behind, so it adds up that actress Antje Traue was invited back to reprise her role for The Flash alongside Shannon. Faora was memorably almost played by Gal Gadot until Zack Snyder decided to save her for Wonder Woman instead. More on her in a moment…
Temuera Morrison
This one might’ve slipped most people by. Back in February 2022, Deadline reported that Temuera Morrison would be reprising his role as Thomas Curry, father of Jason Momoa’s Arthur, in The Flash, in addition to his confirmed return in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. The Flash has gone through some significant changes since then, however, so it’s feasible that Morrison’s cameo has been cut.
Expected: Gal Gadot
After Warner Bros. blew her big surprise cameo in Shazam! Fury of the Gods earlier this year, DC seems to be attempting to keep Gal Gadot’s potential role in The Flash under tighter wraps. However, various leaks and loose lips (looking at you, Affleck) have given us the distinct impression that the Amazonian warrior will indeed feature opposite her former Justice League co-stars in some capacity.
