DO NOT READ ANY FURTHER. WE ARE SERIOUS. IF YOU DON’T WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS IN NEXT YEAR’S LONG-AWAITED FLASH MOVIE, THEN STOP READING NOW. RIGHT NOW. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
YOU.
WERE.
WARNED.
For the last few weeks, much of what we have read about the upcoming Warner Bros film focused on The Scarlet Speedster has been negative. Its star, Ezra Miller, has been the focus of many of those headlines for quite frankly, really odd behavior.
Two years ago, Reel 360 News reported on Miller choking a woman outside of a bar in Reykjavik, Iceland. In a short clip posted on Twitter, the 27-year-old actor was seen grabbing a young woman by the throat and dragging her to the ground after asking if she “wants a fight.”
Then in Hawai’i, South Hilo officers responded to a report of a disorderly bar patron on Sunday evening at 11:30 p.m. Police determined that the agitator had become unruly while other patrons sang karaoke and had begun “yelling obscenities.”
Miller then “grabbed the microphone from a 23-year-old woman singing karaoke and later lunged at a 32-year-old man playing darts.”
Another incident in Hawai’i had Miller angry at a party tossing a chair into a woman.
And yet, another incident has Miller reportedly putting a minor at risk.
Reel 360 News then reported a Rolling Stone report that described an “emergency meeting” held between Warner Bros execs to determine Miller’s fate moving forward, citing not only the public perception of the actor after their legal problems but also “frequent meltdowns” that reportedly occurred during the production of The Flash.
Now we have this. You can still turn away. A YouTube channel that leaked accurate plot synopses for The Matrix Resurrections and Godzilla vs. Kong prior to their releases has exposed a full breakdown of The Flash script. Comic Book Movie was the first to report this.
3…. 2…. 1…
Justice League… Sort of
The Flash begins with a hospital under a terrorist attack. Barry (Miller) races into action to rescue the hostages. There to help him are Batfleck (Ben Affleck’s version of Batman) and Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman.
We see that Barry and Bruce have formed a significant friendship since Zack Snyder’s Justice League, which is considered canon. Depressed that his dad, Henry Allen (played by Billy Crudup in Justice League and now by Ron Livingston), remains in prison for a crime he didn’t commit, it dawns on Barry that he can travel back in time and stop his mother, Nora Allen, from being murdered. This plot is very similar to The Flash TV series with Grant Gustin. Bruce warns Barry that changing the past can have dire consequences.
Barry doesn’t listen – we wouldn’t have a movie if he did – and moves forward with his plan. The Fastest Man Alive races back, passing through a time vortex and catches the attention of a monster, which chases Barry. He escapes to…
Welcome to 2013
Barry winds up in the year Man of Steel was released. Coincidence? Nah.
But it’s not Kal-El he meets. Instead, Barry comes face-to-face with a younger and non-superpowered, Barry, also played by Miller.
Barry discovers that Nora is still alive and Future Flash decides the best way to save her is to teach his younger version how to use the Speed Force. This – conveniently – happens to be the day that Barry gets struck by lightning. So the two head to his lab to prepare.
When lightning strikes younger Barry, things go sideways. This is due to Future Barry being in the way of the blast. They are both hit and this causes Future Flash to lose his powers. Now he is stuck in the past.
Barry decides he needs to ask the Justice League for help. However, Superman is having government problems. Diana is still in hiding, and Aquaman is somewhere talking to fish.
However, Batfleck is an angry Bruce living in Gotham. The two go to Wayne Manor.
Not Batfleck…
Believing Ben Affleck’s Bruce is the who they’ll meet, they rush to Wayne Manor. Only this isn’t the Wayne Manor they know. It’s a perfect replica of the mansion from Tim Burton’s Batman (’89). Greeting them is Michael Keaton’s Bruce, who is an old man with a grey beard and unkempt hair cooking spaghetti.
“You want to get nuts?” Michael Keaton’s version asks the Speedsters.
The Barrys explain what happened and Batman concludes that Barry’s time travel altered the universe and merged timelines. This reality is not Future Barry’s reality.
To raise the stakes even higher, this is the day General Zod (Michael Shannon) invades Earth. The Flashes and Batman make a plan to meet Superman (Henry Cavill) before he takes on Zod. They believe Supes can help get Barry home.
After Keaton’s Dark Knight figures out where Superman is being held, they set out to break into the military facility. But they don’t find Superman.
Superman is Dead
Man, Warner Bros. loves killing Kal-El off. When the three enter the prison, they discover it is Supergirl (Sasha Calle) being held. It turns out she is the one who made it to earth from Krypton. Superman died in transit.
But Zod is still the same threat.
The group decides to stop Zod. But they need Future Barry powered up. Bruce comes up with a plan. There’s a thunderstorm outside and the Dark Knight straps Barry into an electric chair atop Wayne Manor.
Future Barry is electrocuted but doesn’t become The Flash. Ouch. Just as Future Barry is about to lose hope, Supergirl (now suited up) flies him into the lightning.
This comedy of errors doesn’t go well either as Barry dies. But Past Barry is there to save him with a touch.
Helloooooo, Flash.
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Showdown in the Desert
The group heads to the desert to confront Zod. Future Barry throws on his Past self’s new costume. Past Barry dons a modified Batsuit. Zod demands
Zod demands Superman, but no one knows who he’s talking about. The Kryptonian villain kills General Swanwick – a.k.a. Martian Manhunter (Harry Lennix) – and unleashes the World Engine. A huge battle ensues, and Zod is ultimately defeated… without a single casualty in Metropolis.
However, Keaton’s Batman is badly injured. Future Barry apologizes for bringing him into this fight, but Bruce thanks Barry for reminding him how to be a hero. Keaton’s Batman dies.
With Barry’s mother still alive in 2013, he realizes his mother is still alive. He gets an idea to remove all the cans of tomato sauce from the convenience store she visited prior to her murder. She will have to shop somewhere else.
As a result, Nora wouldn’t be cooking dinner when her killer struck, thereby stopping that mysterious event from ever taking place.
But if Barry takes this action, the timeline will remain broken. Barry makes the decision to allow Nora to die. It’s tragic and touching.
Now powered back up, Barry returns to 2022. He travels through the Speed Force once again and discovers the monster he saw earlier was actually a horrific version of himself. All seems normal when Barry returns to his time.
There is now evidence to exonerate Henry Allen and Barry gets a happy ending. Batfleck’s Benz arrives at the happy scene. But it’s not Batfleck who emerges. It’s Keaton’s Bruce. Supergirl also appears, though neither of them should be here.
Barry is confused. Neither knows what they’re doing there, but a new DCEU has clearly been created where they exist in place of “Batfleck” and Henry Cavill’s Superman. With that, the film ends.
One Final Tease
Jason Momoa finally makes a cameo appearance as Aquaman in a post-credits scene that shows Barry helping a drunk Arthur Curry leave a bar.
Racing home to grab something that can sober his fellow hero up, Barry receives a distress call on his computer. It’s a video message from Affleck’s Batman. He desperately needs Barry’s help, making it clear he needs to be rescued.
Barry is off to save the DCEU’s original Batman. Sounds like a take on Crisis on Infinite Earths. Watch the video below:
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. Saoirse-Monica Jackson, Rudy Mancuso, and Luke Brandon Field are also on board in undisclosed roles.
Unless Warner Bros. new ownership decides to do something different, The Flash is still currently scheduled to be released on June 23, 2023.
The Geek is a working screenwriter, director and screenwriting instructor.
