The Flash Movie Should Bring Flashpoint Batman To The New DCEU

The Flash will reportedly feature a version of the comic book storyline Flashpoint, which means it could finally bring the Flashpoint Batman to the new DCEU. The long-awaited Flash movie looks like it will finally arrive in 2022 and bring what promises to be a potentially revolutionary storyline with it. Geoff Johns' acclaimed Flashpoint miniseries was a monumental moment in DC comics history that introduced an alternate reality for the DC universe and gave birth to the New 52 reboot. And it seems The Flash director Andrés Muschietti will be adapting that very storyline for his upcoming DCEU movie.

Using this multiversal tale as a basis will seemingly allow the IT Chapter Two director to do some exciting things with his take on the Flash. The biggest news thus far is that Michael Keaton is in talks to reprise his Batman role from the Burton-era movies in The Flash. According to reports, Keaton will appear courtesy of Flashpoint's alternate reality element, and while the return of what might be the finest on-screen Batman yet is a thrilling prospect, there's also the potential for another beloved character to make his long-awaited on-screen debut: Flashpoint Batman.

The character first appeared in the original Geoff Johns story where Flash discovers that in an alternate reality Thomas Wayne, Bruce Wayne's father, is Batman. This more brutal incarnation of the Dark Knight was a hit with Batman fans, who have since hoped for the Flashpoint Batman to appear in a movie. Once Jeffrey Dean Morgan played Thomas Wayne in Zack Snyder's Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, anticipation for Flashpoint Batman's debut only grew, with both fans and Morgan expressing their enthusiasm. Now, with The Flash edging closer, the opportunity for Flashpoint Batman to appear on screen may have finally arrived.

Flashpoint Batman Explained

Flashpoint is not only considered one of the all-time best Flash stories, it was the genesis of the major DC reboot known as the New 52. The story itself saw Barry Allen waking up in an alternate reality without his powers and any memory of how he got there. The confused former hero travels to Gotham City to find Bruce Wayne but instead discovers a wholly different Batman awaiting him in the Batcave. Allen is confronted by Thomas Wayne, who in this alternate reality took on the mantle of the Dark Knight after his son, Bruce, was murdered by the infamous mugger. In this version of events, Bruce's mother Martha Wayne went insane and became the Joker, while her husband transformed into a firearm-wielding version of Batman with a penchant for brutality. Eventually, Barry discovers he actually created this new reality by travelling back in time to save his own mother's life. With the help of Thomas Wayne's Flashpoint Batman, Allen regains his powers and finds his way back to his original timeline, where he delivers a letter from Thomas Wayne to Bruce, closing out a truly epic tale.

Following the events of Flashpoint, a lot changed for DC's roster of heroes, with the New 52 relaunch picking up on plot points from Johns' story to essentially restart the company's entire line of comic books from scratch. But Flashpoint Batman would prove be one particularly enduring element of the Flashpoint storyline, with the character reappearing multiple times throughout the ensuing years. Flashpoint Batman even returned to face his own son in a recent storyline that saw Thomas Wayne's Batman team up with Bane to take on Bruce Wayne's caped crusader and dissuade him from carrying on the Batman legacy.

The Flash Movie May Be Flashpoint

Fans have long awaited a full-length Flash movie, especially since the arrival of Ezra Miller's Barry Allen in Batman V Superman. In fact, the long-gestating Flash movie was first rumoured to be in development back in 2013, before DC announced the following year that The Flash would indeed be appearing in his own solo outing, slated for 2018. Unfortunately, unfavorable reactions to Suicide Squad and Justice League brought the future of the DCEU and The Flash into question, and the project was put on the back-burner while Warner Bros. and DC reworked their plans. Before the project was temporarily shelved it went through numerous directors, from Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter scribe Seth Grahame-Smith to Dope director Rick Famuyiwa. Spiderman: Homecoming writers John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein were even onboard at one point, before the current director Andrés Muschietti took the reins and brought the project back on course for a 2022 release.

Throughout this tumultuous development saga, one thing seemed to remain fairly concrete: the Flash movie was set to be a live-action version of the Flashpoint storyline. This was rumored prior to 2017, but in July of that year DC confirmed during SDCC that the movie would actually be called Flashpoint. The following year, that appeared to have changed, with reports suggesting Warner Bros. had dropped the Flashpoint title - though speculation persisted that the movie would still use the storyline as inspiration for its own narrative. Once Muschietti came onboard it seemed the movie was back to being called The Flash, and it was unclear whether the Flashpoint plans had been scrapped entirely. However, in an early-2020 interview, the director confirmed the movie will indeed be based on the Flashpoint story, though Muschietti did say that The Flash will be a “different version of Flashpoint than you’re expecting," which makes sense in light of the Keaton-as-Batman revelation.

Using the Flashpoint storyline for the Flash movie makes a lot of sense and not simply because of its legendary status as one of the best Flash stories. Zack Snyder's Batman V Superman and its Knightmare sequence already established Flash's time travel powers. The sequence involves Batman having a mysterious vision that reveals a hellish alternate reality or potential future. During this sequence Ezra Miller's Flash appears to deliver a warning to Batman - a moment Snyder has confirmed as the result of Flash using the cosmic treadmill (originally introduced in the Flashpoint comic books) to travel in time. With Jeffrey Dean Morgan playing Thomas Wayne in that same movie, and repeatedly expressing his desire to eventually take on the role of Flashpoint Batman, all the foundations are in place for the Flashpoint story to unfold on-screen. What's more, back in 2017 Geoff Johns revealed the plan was for Flashpoint Batman to be a significant part of The Flash. Of course, much has changed since then, but it's clear Flashpoint Batman has at least been a consideration for Warner Bros. for some time.

What Flashpoint Batman's DCEU Future Could Be

With The Flash set to deliver a version of Flashpoint, there's certainly the potential for an on-screen Flashpoint Batman to show up. However, with Muschietti confirming his take on the storyline will differ from the comics and Michael Keaton's return on the cards, it seems likely Keaton's Batman will be filling the role of the DCEU's version of the Flashpoint Dark Knight. That said, since playing Thomas Wayne in Batman v Superman, Jeffrey Dean Morgan has been a fan-favorite to take on the role. Morgan has previously been rendered as Flashpoint Batman in a custom Justice League figure, and the actor is even rumored to be in talks to portray the character in The Flash, though this seems fairly tenuous even for a rumour. Morgan has certainly expressed an ongoing interest in playing Flashpoint Batman ever since his debut in Batman V Superman, saying he would "love to do it" and revealing in interviews that he discussed the role with Zack Snyder at various points. With reports that The Flash will not just include an alternate reality but will actually introduce the concept of the multiverse to the DCEU, there's certainly room for Morgan's Flashpoint Batman to appear, even if it happens following the events of The Flash.

If audiences are introduced to Morgan's cinematic Flashpoint Batman in The Flash, it remains to be seen whether it will be a one-off appearance or not. The character has proven popular in his comic book incarnation, returning for several storylines after his original appearance. Whether that popularity will translate to the DCEU is unclear, but if Flashpoint Batman does prove popular, with the multiversal direction DC is going there's the possibility for Morgan and Keaton's Dark Knights to co-exist in the wider DCEU - especially if the multiverse does turn out to include the Arrowverse's various characters. Meanwhile, Robert Pattinson's caped crusader from The Batman looks set to exist firmly within his own self-contained universe, at least for the time being. That would allow room for a Flashpoint Batman, whether it's Morgan's or not, to flourish within the wider DCEU, and perhaps even become the front-line Dark Knight for Warner Bros. going forward. Whatever the case, the future of Batman and the DCEU has never been as unpredictable or as exciting as it is right now.

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