The Flash’s journey to the big screen has been full of roadblocks and speed bumps. In the fall of 2014, Ezra Miller was cast as Barry Allen/The Flash in the new DC Extended Universe (DCEU). After making cameos in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad and starring in 2017’s Justice League, Miller was supposed to have his own Flash film in 2018. However, the creatives behind the film continued to change hands for years, leading to multiple delays.
Seth Grahame-Smith (The Lego Batman Movie), Rick Famuyiwa (Dope), and the duos of Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse), and John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein (Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves) were either hired or at least linked to direct The Flash before Andy Muschietti (It movies) was officially brought on in November 2019. The other issue behind The Flash’s delay involves Miller and his notorious controversies and legal issues. From harassment allegations to multiple arrests, there were discussions about whether The Flash would ever be released.
However, The Flash is finally heading to theaters in 2023. Below is everything you need to know about The Flash, including the release date, cast, synopsis, and trailer.
When does The Flash come out?
The Flash races into theaters on June 16, 2023. The film will first premiere in Las Vegas at CinemaCon on April 25. The pandemic, lack of a director, and Miller’s legal troubles led Warner Bros. to shift the release date multiple times.
The original release date for The Flash was March 23, 2018. Other previous release dates include July 1, 2022, June 3, 2022, November 4, 2022, and June 23, 2023, before settling on June 16.
What is The Flash about?
With the tagline, “When worlds collide,” The Flash is a time-traveling adventure with Barry traversing to the past to prevent his mother’s murder. By changing the past, Barry reshapes the future, trapping himself in an alternate reality where no metahumans exist. In this new world, General Zod (Man of Steel’s Michael Shannon) has returned, trying to annihilate the human race again.
Without metahumans, Barry first receives help from his younger self. The two Barrys then receive aid from an older version of Batman (Batman’s Michael Keaton) to rescue an imprisoned Supergirl (The Young and the Restless‘s Sasha Calle) and convince her to join the fight to save the universe.
The Flash is directed by Muschietti from a screenplay by Christina Hodson (Birds of Prey).
Who is in the cast of The Flash?
Miller reprises his role as Barry Allen/The Flash, his first appearance in a movie since Zack Snyder’s Justice League. Keaton is back as Batman, the character he made famous in Batman and Batman Returns. The Flash marks Calle’s first appearance as Supergirl in DC. Shannon’s General Zod was killed in Man of Steel but is alive in this alternate reality.
Other cast members include Ron Livingston (Office Space) as Henry Allen, Barry’s father; Maribel Verdú (Raymond & Ray) as Nora Allen, Barry’s mother; Kiersey Clemons (Somebody I Used to Know) as journalist Iris West, Barry’s love interest; Antje Traue (Dark) as Faora-Ul, a leader in Zod’s army; Ben Affleck (Air) as Bruce Wayne, the Batman from Barry’s original world; and Temuera Morrison (Aquaman), Aquaman’s father.
Rudy Mancuso (Rim of the World), Saoirse-Monica Jackson (Finding You), and Luke Brandon Field (Jojo Rabbit) are expected to appear in The Flash after being cast in undisclosed roles.
Is there a trailer for The Flash?
The first footage for The Flash appeared at DC FanDome in October 2021. However, the official trailer premiered this year’s Super Bowl (February 12). Unlike the DC FanDome footage, the Super Bowl trailer revealed the existence of two Barrys, provided a better look at Michael Keaton’s Batman, and teased the arrival of Supergirl.
What does The Flash mean for the new DC Universe?
Even though The Flash is considered canon for the DCEU, the film will greatly impact the new DC Universe. According to co-CEO of DC Studios James Gunn (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3), The Flash serves as a reset for the DC Universe. In a comment on his Instagram post, Gunn said The Flash “resets many things, but not all things. Some characters remain the same, [and] some do not.”
Can you stream The Flash?
Upon its theatrical release on June 16, The Flash will be unavailable to stream or purchase the film on demand. The film stems from Warner Bros., so The Flash will eventually arrive on its streaming service, HBO Max. However, that streaming date has yet to be revealed.
Will there be a sequel to The Flash?
As of April 3, a sequel has not been greenlit to The Flash. However, screenwriter David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick (Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom) has already written the sequel. Box office returns will be a determining factor for the possibility of a sequel. However, Gunn and his co-CEO Peter Safran (Blue Beetle) are waiting for Miller’s legal issues and recovery efforts to play out before discussing plans for future Flash movies or appearances.
