Someone Stole the Show in ‘The Flash’ Trailer—And It’s Not the Flash
Warner Bros. finally dropped the highly anticipated trailer for The Flash during the Super Bowl on Sunday. The film has been muddled in controversy given the mounting legal troubles of its lead star, Ezra Miller. However, the studio has gone ahead with its plans to release the film on June 16, and Warner Bros. and DC Universe (DCU) executives have even been hyping up The Flash, giving it high praise ahead of its release. This even resulted in the studio moving the release from June 23 to June 16, to try to shorten the wait for it.
Meanwhile, the trailer gave fans and skeptics a little insight into what all the hype is about. The Miller controversy aside, most can admit the trailer does look appealing. However, it seems that the supporting characters are gearing up to steal the show from The Flash (Miller). In the trailer, it was revealed that Barry Allen (a.k.a. The Flash) goes back in time to change history and prevent his mother’s death from happening. Messing with the timeline, though, has dire consequences and lands Flash in an alternate reality devoid of metahumans where General Zod (Michael Shannon) rules.
Viewers will recall that General Zod had previously been killed by Superman in Man of Steel. Hence, it is clear that this is an entirely new reality where anything is possible. General Zod and Faora-UI (Antje Traue) are still alive. and this world’s hero is Supergirl (Sasha Calle) instead of Superman. Additionally, the alternate universe explains what is going on with Batman in The Flash.
Who plays Batman in The Flash?
The question of who plays Batman in The Flash is a little complicated because two actors play Batman. This is particularly interesting because even though the film has two Flashes, they are both portrayed by Miller. However, there are going to be two very separate and distinct iterations of Batman in the film. On the one hand, Affleck will be returning to reprise his role as the DC Extended Universe’s (DCEU) Batman. He has been portraying the role since 2016 and serves as the current main-timeline Batman who formulated the Justice League. In the trailer, he is seen as Wayne, warning Barry about the dangers of journeying to the past.
In addition to Affleck’s Batman, there is another iteration of Batman in the alternate universe The Flash finds. Even though metahumans don’t exist in this alternate reality, it seems that heroes still do, as the Flashes find themselves in a Batcave. Both are shocked when Michael Keaton steps forward as Batman to the backdrop of his iconic Batman theme and confirms, “I am Batman.” He then proceeds to steal the show in an epic shot that sees him soaring through the Batcave and taking out a villain with very little effort.
Hence, both Affleck and Keaton portray Batman in The Flash. Affleck is the same Batman we’ve seen before in the DCEU, while Keaton portrays an alternate version of the character in a separate universe.
(featured image: Warner Bros.)
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