The upcoming DCEU movie The Flash is going to take the series into the multiverse. Star Ezra Miller and director Andy Muscietti have teased many things about the film, and a few casting announcements have been made. The biggest of these announcements have been the planned return of two former Batmen. Ben Affleck will reprise his role as the DCEU Batman, and Michael Keaton will return to the role as Batman from the alternate earth of Tim Burton's movies.
These inclusions beg the question, who else from past movies and shows might we see? The Arrowverse featured many former DC actors in Crisis on Infinite Earths, and Ezra Miller's appearance on the crossover confirms that the DCEU is in the same multiverse. The possibilities are endless as to who can show up. This article will list 10 former DC actors whose appearances could mean the most to the story and/or the fans.
Jim Carrey As The Riddler
Feelings on Batman Forever are a bit mixed. The movie manages to tell a good, dramatic story with Batman and Robin, but the villain half of the story is campy and out-of-character. Still, Jim Carrey might be able to do something with a return to this character.
While an appearance would likely be brief, a key thing to remember about Carrey's Riddler is that he knows who Batman is. Or rather, he did, before his brain was fried. The Riddler seemingly forgot Batman's true identity, claiming that he himself is Batman. But imagine what could be done if the multiverse travels reveal someone who knows Bruce Wayne is Batman, especially if we have more than one Bruce Wayne present.
Mark Strong As Sinestro
2011's Green Lantern was a flop. But most fans agree that the best thing about the movie was Mark Strong as Sinestro. Strong played the character as if he were pulled right off the comic page. While Sinestro was seen as a Green Lantern and Hal Jordan's mentor for most of the film, a mid-credits sequence showed Sinestro donning a yellow ring, which comic fans know allows him to wield fear instead of will.
This is one of the many examples of answering "What could have been?" Seeing Mark Strong take Sinestro into darker places would've been something. The Flash movie can provide many answers to what could've been, and perhaps allow actors and stories to finish something they began years earlier.
Billy Crudup As Doctor Manhattan
A Doctor Manhattan appearance may make more sense than it seems. Doomsday Clock, the comic sequel to Watchmen, features Manhattan heavily. We find out that he removed the years and certain characters when Barry Allen fixed Flashpoint, resulting in the New 52. He also viewed multiple other timelines from the past and present.
The movie certainly seems to be pulling from the Flashpoint storyline, which can certainly allow the filmmakers to change anything in the DCEU. While it's uncertain how much of the storyline the film will adapt, it's easy to see how Doctor Manhattan could fit in. DC can easily use the Billy Crudup version without affecting their current Emmy-winning Watchmen show either. That's where the benefit of multiple earths comes in.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt As John Blake
The Flash movie has the chance to show us Nolan's Gotham City after the end of the Dark Knight Trilogy. Joseph Gordon-Levitt's John Blake, whose real first name was Robin, was left the coordinates of the Batcave, clearly continuing on the legacy of Batman.
While Robin Blake wasn't going to become a hero named Robin, many fans wondered if he'd ever been seen as Nightwing. The Dark Knight Rises itself points to Blake becoming the next Batman, as Bruce Wayne tells him earlier that "Batman could be anyone." As with other characters in this article, even a brief appearance could tell us what became of Blake after the end of the trilogy.
Billy Dee Williams As Two-Face
This would be long-overdue. Billy Dee Williams portrayed Harvey Dent in 1989's Batman, and the plan was that his character would become Two-Face in future films. But when the time came, the role was recast with Tommy Lee Jones. Williams did get to finally voice Two-Face in The Lego Batman Movie, but a live-action appearance would be a treat for fans and Williams alike.
Since Keaton's Batman is appearing, Williams' Dent would be a nice connection to make to those films as well. If the new film shows Keaton's Batman fighting someone, it might as well be someone we know from the Tim Burton movies.
Chris O'Donnell As Robin
Batman & Robin is often considered the worst Batman film, and it effectively stalled the Batman franchise for eight years. While Chris O'Donnell played a fairly accurate Dick Grayson in Batman Forever, his role in Batman & Robin was full of cheesy jokes and synchronized bat-grappling alongside George Clooney.
Seeing an older Dick Grayson could be interesting. If he had a hero persona, it would likely be Nightwing, which his last costume hinted at anyway. While Keaton's appearance is rumored to ignore the two films O'Donnell appeared in, the multiverse allows the filmmakers to use whoever they want. A what-if scenario where O'Donnell was Keaton's Robin can work just as well.
Michelle Pfeiffer As Catwoman
If any fan-favorite besides Michael Keaton should join this film, it has to be Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman. Pfeiffer is often named as the best Catwoman, as she certainly stole every scene she was in back in Batman Returns. And with the final shot of the movie being the reveal that Selina Kyle was still alive, this could be another opportunity for showing what came next.
Keaton's involvement certainly opens the door for Pfeiffer to come back. While Williams' Harvey Dent is a possibility, this version of Catwoman is the one villain from the Keaton films that was still alive at the end. The deaths of Joker, Max Schreck, and Penguin most likely count them all out, but Catwoman can be expected to still be around.
Jeffrey Dean Morgan As Thomas Wayne
Jeffrey Dean Morgan had a brief but important role as Thomas Wayne in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. With Flashpoint being rumored for Zack Snyder's initial DCEU plan, it seems like we could've gotten Morgan as the Thomas Wayne Batman in a future film. Considering Affleck's return to the role, this feels like a possibility again.
In the comics, Flashpoint results in Thomas and Martha Wayne surviving the encounter with Joe Chill, and not Bruce. Thomas becomes a vengeful Batman who kills criminals but still teams up with Barry Allen. This version of Batman eventually met the Bruce Wayne Batman, and that could easily be adapted in The Flash for Morgan and Affleck.
Grant Gustin As The Flash
While Gustin is a current DC actor, but this feels practically necessary. Grant Gustin's Flash of the Arrowverse and Ezra Miller's Flash of the DCEU already met once in Crisis on Infinite Earths. Gustin's Flash provides Miller's with the name "The Flash," as that name hadn't been used in the movies yet, and it established the multiverse as existing in the modern movies too.
Considering how recent this was, and the way it was mentioned during DC Fandome, it seems impossible that the movie wouldn't mention this meeting. If the main plot finds Miller's Flash traversing the multiverse, he's going to talk about the first evidence he had that it existed. And if he appeared in a cameo, it's only fitting that Gustin would get the same.
Brandon Routh As Superman
Brandon Routh finally got to return to his Superman in Crisis, and it also felt like a nice way to wrap up his portrayal of the character. But if any non-DCEU Superman appeared, it should be Routh. Routh's Superman is still the same character as Christopher Reeve's Superman, and having that Superman meet Keaton's Batman seems like too good of an opportunity to pass up.
A Superman appearance would also be a good way to contrast the Batmen of the film. While Keaton's Batman would be unfamiliar with Superman, Affleck's will have learned his lesson on that front. Whatever the filmmakers decide to do, it's clear we'll be in for a fun ride with The Flash film.