With The Flash season 9 set to start production this month, Grant Gustin trains and gets into Barry Allen shape in a new video. 2022 has been a shake-up to the Arrowverse's status quo after holding onto its status as one of The CW's flagship franchises since 2012. With the news that WarnerMedia and Paramount are giving up 75% ownership of the network to Nexstar, the superhero slate was drastically altered earlier in the year. Both Legends of Tomorrow and Batwoman were canceled by The CW, along with several other long-running dramas.
While The Flash season 9 was greenlit, it was revealed later on that it would officially be the show's final season. The Arrow spinoff officially became the longest-running series in the Arrowverse during season 8, as it crossed 171 episodes back in the spring. Set to premiere sometime in 2023, The Flash season 9 will have a 13-episode run as the show wraps up Gustin's arc as Barry Allen in the franchise. With The Flash coming to an end, it will be the last Earth-Prime show from the franchise unless The CW creates any additional Arrowverse spinoffs based in that specific universe.
As The Flash season 9 is getting closer to starting production next week in Vancouver, Canada, the show's leading man is already preparing for his final year on the series. Gustin's trainer Ben Bruno shared a video on Instagram of the actor working out, stating Gustin has "been training hard for the upcoming season of The Flash," while calling his dedication some "seriously impressive work." Gustin also shared photos of himself in his hiatus look, calling the images, "portrait of a man sad about shaving and cutting his hair in a few days." This confirms that he will soon have his classic Barry Allen look.
For those who have followed Gustin's hiatuses in past years, the actor has previously joked about having to lose his beard and longer hair whenever it is time to start shooting the next season of The Flash. During this break, Gustin worked on a film where he sported the longer hairstyle and beard. For The Flash season 9, Gustin will be joined by returning cast members Candice Patton, Danielle Panabaker, Brandon McKnight, Kayla Compton, and Danielle Nicolet, with Jesse L. Martin's Joe West appearing in a handful of episodes.
The CW and Warner Bros. TV will likely soon reveal new details regarding The Flash season 9, especially with the start of production being so close. From the moment the cast starts shooting, it will likely be very bittersweet, and ideally, Gustin and his co-stars will share some behind the scenes peeks along the way. Even though there are still Arrowverse-adjacent shows like Superman & Lois on The CW, The Flash's conclusion is the end of an era for the beloved franchise. Hopefully, whenever The Flash season 9 returns in 2023, it will be a season that allows the DC drama to go out with a bang.
Source: Grant Gustin & Ben Bruno/Instagram