DC had a solid showing at this years SDCC. At the event, the DCEU grew even bigger with the announcements and confirmation of a total of 9 films. Aquaman, Shazam, Suicide Squad 2, The Batman, Justice League Dark, Batgirl, Green Lantern Corps and Wonder Woman 2 all had logos teased to those in attendance. Most shocking of all was the announcement that The Flash movie would go by Flashpoint. To comic book fans and fans of the show alike, that name should stand out like a sore thumb. While the tv show teased their own version of the iconic storyline it was nowhere close to the comic book pages. With it still so early on, was Flashpoint the right story for the hero to follow? If you love the Flash, you couldn’t have it another way.
Strong story: If you have no clue what Flashpoint is and what to be surprised, close this page out. You won’t want to keep reading. For those of you still reading, Flashpoint tells the story of how Barry Allen goes back in time to stop his mother’s murder forever altering the timeline we’ve grown to know. By doing so he creates a parallel timeline with a much darker universe than we’ve come to know. Our heroes aren’t who they used to be and Barry is the only one who is conscious. After realizing the mistake he’s made, the Flash has to do all he can to right the wrongs he has created.
Geoff Johns: Can you guess who the writer on Flashpoint is? Yep, the same Geoff Johns in charge of building and expanding the DCEU. What better way to expand a character’s big screen presence than a guy responsible for writing one of the heroes most iconic stories. Johns is also responsible for further building some other famous characters like Teen Titans and Green Lanterns. Before everyone sounds off on why he’s not building the DCEU into what we want, his time in his current position started in 2016. From here on out he should have more creative control over how these characters are portrayed in direct relation to the ones he’s helped build in the comics.
Familiar faces: One of the best rumors being tossed around for this film is the casting of Walking Dead alumni Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Lauren Cohan. Having appeared in Batman v Superman as Martha and Thomas Wayne, if the two reprise their roles as the character it makes the star power of the film that much stronger. From the Flashpoint comic, the duo goes mad after Bruce is killed the night of the mugging in the new timeline. Thomas Wayne became the Batman instead of Bruce and Martha is thrust down a dark path of death and destruction as the Joker. The hardest part would be how it plays into the current DCEU and where the characters go from there.
Flashpoint could be the studio’s way of saying they need to come out of the gate swinging. So many fans have already been disappointed by not using the television version of Flash played by Grant Gustin that they needed to make the big screen version that more special. From the comics, Flashpoint has the potential to be just as big character wise as Justice League so DC appears to be firing all guns. If they can hammer home all the right points from the comics there’s no doubt The Flash will get a sequel. But where do they go from one of their strongest stories? We’ll have to wait and see.