The Flash is a film best known for its cameos for better or, most prominently, for worse. According to Kevin Smith, DC allegedly wanted Christian Bale to appear in the film as Batman, but the actor declined the offer.
Readers beware! The following article contains spoilers for the ending of The Flash. Continue at your own risk!
The cameos featured in The Flash have sparked a considerable amount of controversy, from the contentious revival of deceased actors and subpar CGI to the noticeable absence of any previous Flash performers. However, the film included four versions of Batman — Michael Keaton, Ben Affleck, Adam West, and George Clooney. However, according to Kevin Smith, DC had been begging Christain Bale to return as the Caped Crusader for months before settling on George Clooney for the final cameo of the film.
Given Christian Bale is the only live-action Batman actor from before Ben Affleck (aside from Val Kilmer) to not appear in The Flash, it’s not a shock that the Warner Bros. executives tried to nab him for the role. Though given the quality of the film’s cameos and its poor box office performance, it’s likely for the best Bale left his cowl in the closet.
The Flash’s DC Universe future
Warner Bros. Discovery already has a script for a potential sequel to The Flash, written by David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick, the man behind the two Aquaman movies starring Jason Momoa. However, James Gunn and Peter Safran did not discuss the Flash sequel during their DC Universe presentation.
Directed by Andy Muschietti from a script written by Birds of Prey scribe Christina Hodson, The Flash is inspired by the Flashpoint comic book storyline, which followed Barry Allen as he navigated an altered DC Universe. Written by Geoff Johns and penciled by Andy Kuber, Flashpoint radically altered the status of the DC Comics universe and led to the launch of the New 52 titles.
In addition to Ezra Miller, The Flash also features Michael Keaton and Ben Affleck as two separate versions of Batman, Ron Livingston as Henry Allen, Maribel Verdú as Nora Allen, Kiersey Clemons as Iris West, Michael Shannon as General Zod, Antje Traue as Faora-Ul and Sasha Calle as Supergirl.
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