The Flash includes unexpected and exciting cameos, such as Nicolas Cage as Superman and George Clooney as Batman, raising questions about what is canon in the new DC timeline.
The first major classic DC cameo in The Flash was that of Christopher Reeve's Superman, followed by Helen Slater's Supergirl. Both characters were CG recreations, with Superman appearing first, and being quickly joined by Supergirl.
It stars Ezra Miller as Barry Allen / The Flash alongside Sasha Calle, Michael Shannon, Ron Livingston, Maribel Verdú, Kiersey Clemons, Antje Traue, and Michael Keaton. In the film, Barry travels back in time to prevent his mother's death, which brings unintended consequences.
Cage wasn't the only surprise cameo at the end of The Flash. During the film's climax, The Flash (Ezra Miller) enters the Chronobowl and stumbles across several colliding universes — there, he sees Christopher Reeve's Superman, Helen Slater's Supergirl, Adam West's Batman, and George Reeve's Superman.
In the new The Flash movie, there is a CGI clip showcasing Christopher Reeve as Superman and Helen Slater as Supergirl. It feeds into the film's theme of exploring the multiverse. All Star Superfan Podcast had an issue with the scene though and stated that "#ChristopherReeve would have absolutely hated this.
For all the faults of this year's The Flash movie, it did allow viewers to finally see Nicolas Cage as Superman — the iconic superhero role he was originally supposed to play in a '90s film that never got off the ground.
Then, peering through a portal — there's always a portal — arrives the digitalised likeness of Christopher Reeve, the original cape-wearer, who died in 2004 following a series of health problems.
Once that movie was canceled by DC parent company Warner Bros. Discovery due to financial reasons, Keaton's Batman future got put in doubt, and after the announcement that the DCEU would be rebooted with James Gunn's new DC Universe, The Flash's ending was reshot, and Keaton's Bruce Wayne was then replaced by Clooney.
Henry Cavill's Superman cameo was cut from The Flash and replaced with a new ending because of the complications that otherwise would have been set up for the new DC Universe, as The Flash ending served as a soft reboot of the superhero movie universe.
But The Flash also features four versions of Batman: Ben Affleck's, Michael Keaton's, George Clooney's, and a fleeting cameo by Adam West's. Batman is a central part of any DC universe, whether printed, animated, or live-action, so it's no wonder that he makes so many simultaneous appearances across all media.
Michael Keaton reprises his role as Bruce Wayne/Batman for the first time since 1992's Batman Returns in the new blockbuster The Flash. Luckily for DC Comics fans, Keaton isn't the only familiar name to make an appearance in the Ezra Miller-led film.
Sasha Calle plays Kara Zor-El, Kal-El's cousin, in The Flash. Toward The Flash's ending, the younger Barry refers to Kara Zor-El as Supergirl, making it the first Supergirl appearance in a live-action movie since the 1984 Supergirl film. That said, The Flash's Supergirl was not from the DCEU's original timeline.
However, it's evident that these controversies affected the film's performance, as 73% of moviegoers were adult males, much higher than average, meaning that women and children refused to see the movie, most likely due to the lead actor Ezra Miller, leading to lower overall sales.
Spider-Man star Tom Holland is being suggested as the next live-action version of The Flash in James Gunn's DC Universe. The future of The Flash in the DC Universe is uncertain after the end of Grant Gustin's show and Ezra Miller's movie flop.
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau played Jaime Lannister in Game of Thrones, yet, in The Flash, he plays a scruffy guy eating pepperoni pizza. Nikolaj Coster-Waldau doesn't wear a cape or have a villain monologue from his DCEU debut, but what he does have is a nice slice of pizza.
Pattinson's Batman could have appeared in The Flash due to Barry's ability to explore the multiverse through his connection to the Speed Force. However, DC Studios has determined to keep certain projects such as The Batman and its upcoming sequels separate from the greater interconnected DCU.
The Flash's decision to alter reality creates the Flashpoint universe and replaces Affleck's Batman with the Michael Keaton iteration. Affleck's Batman scenes in The Flash highlight his best traits and serve as his likely final appearance in the role.
Wonder Woman's The Flash Movie Cameo Might Have Been Gadot's Last DC Appearance. With no clear future at DC, Gadot's Wonder Woman cameo on The Flash might have been her last appearance as the character. If Wonder Woman is indeed absent from the movie, then Gadot's last turn as the amazon will have been on Shazam!
Ben Affleck, Michael Keaton, and George Clooney's versions of Batman get spotlighted in new BTS photos from The Flash movie. 2023 is marking the end of the DCEU, and it has not been an easy year for the decade-old franchise.
During this storyline, Justice #8 features a look at Batman's personal files on his Batcomputer, and one file in particular features Batman's personal notes about The Flash: "Barry Allen is the kind of man I would have hoped to become had my parents not been murdered in front of my own eyes." Batman goes on to say that ...
Despite Thomas Wayne's Batman being crucial to the Flashpoint storyline in the comics, it seems as though it has been completely omitted from The Flash, but this isn't the only casualty of the live-action adaptation.
During the Multiverse sequence, The Flash also uses archive footage to honor Adam West, Burt Ward, and Cesar Romero. West played Batman in the classic 1960s TV show, which also featured Ward as Robin and Romero as the Joker.
Cage made a surprise appearance as Superman in Warner Bros. ' “The Flash,” in which he battles a giant spider as the multiverse begins to collapse. The 2023 superhero film also sees the return of Keaton as Batman, with whom Burton directed in 1989's “Batman” and its 1992 sequel “Batman Returns.”
The Flash's DC cameos include Multiversal Batmen and Supermen, with the inclusion of deceased actors like Christopher Reeve (Superman) and Adam West (Batman) proving to be particularly divisive.
