Does The Flash Movie Feature A Cameo From The CW Series? The Answer May Surprise You...
The following contains spoilers from the DC Studios movie The Flash, now in theaters.
In the wake of advanced screenings of The Flash, the standalone superhero film from DC Studios (now in theaters), there were reports that an actor from the nine-season CW series puts in an appearance.
Well-placed sources on both the TV and theatrical side, however, assure TVLine that the alleged Flash vet sighting is a case of mistaken identity.
Directed by Andy Muschietti, the Flash movie finds Barry Allen (played by Justice League's Ezra Miller) using his powers to travel back in time in order to prevent his mother Nora's murder. But when Bar's attempt to save his family inadvertently alters the future, he becomes trapped in a harrowing new reality. In order to correct this paradox, Barry finds himself coaxing a Bruce Wayne/Batman (played by Michael Keaton) out of retirement, to then rescue an imprisoned Supergirl (played by Sasha Calle). The cast also includes Kiersey Clemons (Fairfax) as Iris West and DCU vet Ben Affleck (as another Bruce Wayne/Batman).
Given the film's exploration of the "multiverse" concept (you may never look at spaghetti the same again), the climax involves Barry Allen laying eyes on a visual representation of the other timelines and the superheroes that patrol them. That tees up cameos (all using archival footage) of Christopher Reeve's Superman and Helen Slater's Supergirl, and the Superman that Nicolas Cage never got to be.
They were followed by some iconic TV heroes (detailed below), and then what sure looked like Teddy Sears in his Golden Age speedster/Jay Garrick get-up from Season 2 of The Flash — even though that'd have made no sense, since "Jay" was an imposter/Sears never played an actual Flash.) And numerous sites reported a Sears cameo as fact. But as noted above, sources tell TVLine that said cameo was absolutely not Sears, but a generic Golden Age Flash representation.
Which TV superheroes 100% DID make cameos? And who was unacceptably snubbed? Read on...
3. George Reeves, Adventures of Superman
Reeves played Clark Kent/Superman in Adventures of Superman, which debuted in 1952 and was the first TV series to feature the Man of Steel.
2. Adam West, Batman
West played Bruce Wayne/Batman in ABC's Batman, a humorous take on the Caped Crusader that ran for 120 episodes (and as such was the longest-running live-action superhero television series until Smallville broke the record in its sixth of 10 seasons). Some say you can hear Cesar Romero's Joker laughing during West's fleeting appearance.
1. Both Grant Gustin and John Wesley Shipp, However, Were Snubbed at the Speed of Sound
Grant Gustin, star of the the CW series, had given TVLine a heads-up (in the video below) that while there had been "a lot of rumors out there, for a long time," suggesting that he would pop up in the Flash movie, no such cameo would happen.
And it didn't. But given that the movie served up this perfect showcase for DC superheroes from all eras and media, why was Gustin not chosen to represent The Flash (as was done in a similar Titans sequence)?
Or, if we generously play devil's advocate.... Let's say the filmmakers were going for a "retro" theme, in keeping with Adam West's Batman and George Reeve's Supes. "The OGs!" and all that. Why not then at least splice in some footage of John Wesley Shipp circa his 1990 Flash series? Why go with some generic speedster?
What did you think of the Flash movie, if you saw it?