Ezra Miller was first cast as Barry Allen in October 2014, and despite having held the role of the Flash for almost six years, he hasn’t really been able to do a lot with it. The actor’s most substantial part in the costume was in Justice League’s ensemble, but apart from that he’s been reduced to brief cameo roles in Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, Suicide Squad and a surprise appearance in the Arrowverse’s recent “Crisis on Infinite Earths” crossover event.
Part of the reason for this is that the character’s proposed solo movie has been mired in development hell, with Seth Grahame-Smith, Rick Famuyiwa and filmmaking duo John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein all signing on to direct before dropping out over the last few years. At the moment, It’s Andy Muschietti is the man behind the camera, with filming slated to begin next year to meet a July 2022 release date.
Given the sheer number of writers and directors that have cycled through the project, we can’t be sure what the most recent version of the story entails, but it has constantly been rumored that the Scarlet Speedster’s standalone outing is set to adapt the famous Flashpoint arc, with an eye to softly rebooting the entire DCEU in the process, something the studio is already in the midst of following the Zack Snyder era.
Now, we’re hearing from our sources – the same ones who told us that Ahsoka Tano was set to appear in The Mandalorian season 2 and a Green Lantern show is coming to HBO Max, both of which are confirmed – that not only is The Flash set to drastically alter the timeline of Warner Bros.’ comic book franchise, as has been widely speculated, but the movie will make possible the return of Ewan McGregor’s Black Mask.
Apparently, the studio loved McGregor’s performance as the Birds of Prey villain and are keen to feature him in a recurring role, and see Flashpoint as the ideal way of doing that, with Barry changing the timeline and reversing/altering numerous events that have taken place in the DCEU. That includes the death of the aforementioned antagonist, who’ll be brought back to life thanks to Barry’s actions and will go on to show up in future movies.
Given the long and troubled production history of The Flash, things can always change before the film gets off the ground, but for now, we’re told that this is the plan and fans can expect to see Ewan McGregor’s baddie return at some point down the road.
