With Justice League failing to meet financial expectations at the box office, it’s forced many of us to ponder the future of the DC Extended Universe. And regardless of said gross, it’s the hope of many – this writer included – that we continue to see new territory being charted that, of course, includes heroes and villains who’ve not had much exposure on the big screen.
Taking those financial shortcomings into consideration, though, it’s definitely surprising to see that Warner Bros. are seemingly all for proceeding with a Flashpoint movie. I mean, the Scarlet Speedster is long overdue for some time in the spotlight on the silver screen, but anyone remotely familiar with Geoff Johns’ game-changing comic book of the same name is well aware of how it also includes alternate takes on Batman, Superman, Cyborg, Aquaman, Wonder Woman and even Shazam. In other words, it’d essentially end up being what we could call “Justice League 1.5.”
Granted, information on the project is still scarce, so we’re unsure of what exactly it’ll involve, but That Hashtag Show has a pretty interesting scoop today which outlines quite a bit. For starters, they say that the pic will have a budget of over $100 million and is getting ready to head into production in London this summer, with a 2020 release date in mind. Unsurprisingly, it’ll need tons of time in post and, as expected, it’ll feature “evil versions of Wonder Woman and other members of the Justice League” in the alternate timeline that Barry creates.
That’s right, Flashpoint, for those unfamiliar with it, is set against a different timeline than what we’re used to seeing. The popular comic book arc had Barry Allen zip back in time to save his mother, but in doing so, he inadvertently triggered a domino effect that spread throughout the DC Universe. And so, Thomas and Martha wind up surviving that infamous mugging, but the untimely death of Bruce leads the Wayne family down two very separate tracks: one to vigilantism, the other to sheer, unbridled villainy.
Circling back to the feature film, though, and THS is also reporting on who the villains will be. According to them, many of the Flash’s most beloved Rogues will appear in the pic, including:
- Eobard Thawne, who will be shown in flashbacks to Barry’s superhero birth.
- Caitlin Snow, who may transform into Killer Frost at some point. But that hasn’t been confirmed just yet.
- Dr. Arthur Light, aka. Doctor Light, who will apparently be the big bad.
- Leonard Snart/Captain Cold and Mick Rory/Heatwave, who will “complicate things” for Barry, whatever that may mean.
Of course, we don’t need to tell you that too many villains packed into one movie can seriously derail things (hello, Spider-Man 3 and The Amazing Spider-Man 2), but we’re hopeful that Warner Bros. is aware of that. If THS’ report is on the level, then it sounds like most of these antagonists will just have a minor role, anyways, with only one real main villain for Barry to face – Doctor Light. Then again, without any confirmation from the studio on this, it could all be complete hogwash. We’ll just have to wait and see.
What we can tell you with absolute certainty though is that with John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein now locked in – pending final negotiations, of course – Flashpoint can finally begin to move forward at Warner Bros., where it joins the likes of Shazam!, Suicide Squad 2, Wonder Woman 2, Gotham City Sirens and, presumably, Green Lantern Corps.
