Spoilers ahoy for The Flash.
Arguably the best way to get maximum enjoyment out of The Flash is to have an extensive and in-depth knowledge of DC’s live-action adaptations, whether they even ended up getting made or not.
There’s going to be a huge number of people out there from younger generations – or just casual crowds in general – who have no idea who George Reeves is and why there’s suddenly a black-and-white Superman showing up in a $200 million blockbuster, and it can’t be ruled out that there’s even people out there who’ve never seen Batman & Robin, thus leaving them confused as to why the hell George Clooney of all people showed up for the final scene as Bruce Wayne.
That leads us neatly onto Nicolas Cage popping up as the Kal-El from Tim Burton’s Superman Lives, which is the deepest of cuts destined to go over many heads. Despite voicing his frustrations at the cameo being leaked even though he was the one who spoiled it, director Andy Muschietti summed up The Flash‘s approach to fan service in the worst possible way while speaking to The Playlist.
“We talked with Nicolas, and we decided to shoot him in his suit. And so, we built the suit with the same costume designer that built the suit for the unproduced Superman Lives, which is a movie that would have been great, but nobody will see because it wasn’t made. But the excitement was shared with Nicolas, and Nicolas is such a kind guy, and I think he shared the enthusiasm for bringing back that movie that was never done – even for a couple minutes in our movie.
And yeah, the magic of the multiverse is expressing that this universe exists, even though it’s a movie that nobody saw. So, we’re kind of saying that there is a Superman Lives. Yes, we were nervous, but the excitement of doing it overrode everything. It’s like, of course, someone said, ‘What about the people that don’t know that Nicolas Cage was going to be Superman. Wouldn’t it be a funny moment to see Nicolas Cage out of nowhere dressed as Superman?’ And our answer was, ‘We don’t care!’”
With The Flash already in danger of bombing, the decision to hire Cage, kit him out in a costume, render an effects-heavy sequence where he battles a spider, and then put it in the film for no other reason than a wink and a nod underlines just how unwieldy things became, and it’s almost guaranteed to end with nothing but financial losses.
