Kiersey Clemons is excited to be making her DC Extended Universe debut as Iris West in the upcoming Justice League film, but she's made a conscious decision to avoid the other live-action Iris West; portrayed by Candice Patton in The CW's The Flash TV series.

Clemons is a rising star, having played memorable roles in Amazon's TV series Transparent and the feature film Dope - which was directed by Rick Famuyiwa, who was at one time slated to direct the long delayed Flash solo film, now titled The Flash: Flashpoint. Her youthful energy and charm seems like a perfect counter to Ezra Miller's awkwardly funny Barry Allen in the DCEU.

However, Clemons is attempting to avoid other current iterations of the Iris West character. In an interview with Cinema Blend, Clemons says she's made a concerted effort not to watch The CW's version of Iris, because she wants to bring a wholly original take to the character:

"When I do projects where it's [characters that have been adapted before]... no. I will let it affect me. Actually, I lied. I saw a little bit of [The Flash TV show] before I did [Justice League]. But now it's like, 'Oh no, no, no.' Because I'll pull from it! I'll be like, 'I want to do that. No, I don't want to do that.' No, no, no."

Iris West on The Flash

That's a pretty reasonable position. The DCEU's version of The Flash and his world has a hurdle that none of the other DC heroes do, in that he's already starring in a highly profile live-action feature. If The Flash solo film is going to succeed, it's going to need to differentiate itself from the TV series in bold ways. The announcement that The Flash's solo movie will be an adaptation of Flashpoint suggests DC Films knows this is an issue, too.

And while Clemons may be unaware or too diplomatic to say it, Patton's Iris West has long been considered one of The Flash TV show's weak links. Long sidelined as one of the few people who didn't know Barry Allen was The Flash, Iris then spent the entirety of the show's disappointing third season as (essentially) a damsel in distress plot device. One of the DC Universe's oldest and richest supporting characters, Iris West deserves better than such tired genre tropes. While it's too early to know if Clemons' Iris will get the kind of stories she deserves, it's at least reassuring to know that the cinematic version is starting with a fresh slate.

NEXT: Flashpoint Movie is Rumored to Include Wonder Woman

Source: Cinema Blend

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