While the status for the many in-development films for Warner Bros’ DC cinematic universe is still up in the air, it does appear that The Flash solo film is still alive. As of last week, IT franchise director Andy Muschietti is in talks to helm the fastest man alive project starring Ezra Miller, with Birds of Prey scribe Christina Hodson penning the script. Should he sign on, the plan is to get the film rolling sometime after Miller finishes his work on the next Fantastic Beasts film.
With that said, we know pretty much nothing about what The Flash movie would be about other than that it follows Barry Allen. Who else is appearing in the film? While it might be a while till we find out, here are five characters that the movie needs to include as well as five that shouldn’t make the cut, at least for the first installment.
AVOID: Gorilla Grodd
While there was a slight Easter egg to Gorilla Grodd in Justice League, this is one of those villains that need to build up to. One of the great aspects of the Flash mythology is the great rogue’s gallery that he has, with a strong variety of bad guys. A talking gorilla who can control your mind is probably one of the best villains you can have as a superhero. However, given that this Flash is still “new” for a lot of mainstream audiences, starting the franchise off with Grodd is premature. Although that doesn’t mean he should appear later down the line, not for the first outing.
NEEDS: Henry Allen
While we only got a few scenes with Billy Crudup in Justice League, a film about the Flash absolutely needs to include Henry Allen. Given that we have already lost a couple of actors from the on-going DC film franchise, it remains to be seen if Crudup is still even set to return as Henry.
Regardless, Henry’s story has to be told as part of Barry’s life given that he is still locked up at Iron Heights for a crime he didn’t commit. Whether he plays a big or small role in this film, Henry and Barry need to get more time together.
AVOID: Savitar
Despite the fact that The Flash TV show made its own version of this one, Savitar has always been one of the weirdest Flash baddies and not necessarily in a good way. It is fully understandable that the film version of Flash will try to be as different as it can be from the TV show given that the CW incarnation has already brought a lot of the mythology to life. However, Savitar is just one of those characters that should never even make it into the franchise at any given time. The TV version was more than enough for the character’s presence in live-action.
NEEDS: Darryl Frye
While the television series has Joe West (Jesse L. Martin) as Barry’s (Grant Gustin) father figure, it’s a different story in the comics. Per the DC lore, Darryl Frye became Barry’s legal guardian after the death of Nora Allen. Given that Joe West doesn’t exist in the comics, it’s safe to say that he will not make the jump to the big screen.
That’s why Frye needs to be brought in because Barry will need some family who isn’t trapped in jail. In addition to that, given that this Barry doesn’t have a full team like the TV version, having Frye as a support system would benefit the story and not isolate Barry so much.
AVOID: Hunter Zolomon
Teddy Sears brought Hunter Zolomon to life in the second season of the CW drama and was one of the show’s better villains, without a doubt. However, Zolomon is definitely one of the darker villains for the Flash and also not even one of Barry’s villains. In the comics, Zoom is one of Wally West’s personal antagonists and it would be a bit low if he is made into one of Barry’s enemies for the big screen. If Wally ever makes it to the big screen, save Zoom for him so that Wally has a great big bad to take on.
NEEDS: Victor Stone
One of the loveliest aspects in Justice League was Barry’s dynamic with Victor Stone a.k.a. Cyborg (Ray Fisher) whose role in the ongoing DC film universe also remains to be seen. With the actor stating that it remains to be seen whether or not he is still attached to the Cyborg role, there have been no updates on his solo film.
But with earlier versions of The Flash supposedly including Cyborg as a supporting role, that is something that should still happen in Muschietti and Hodson’s take on the project. Allowing Barry to have a super-friend he can turn to, especially when it’s Cyborg, would be a bonus for the film. Especially given that Fisher and Miller had such amazing chemistry together from everything that they had together in Justice League.
AVOID: Black Flash
The Black Flash is a major character that needs to be built up to as he (or it) plays such a large role in the Flash mythology. Given that Black Flash is essentially Death for speedsters, this character is a big deal in DC Comics for the many speedsters that are running around. However, given that this is the first movie in what will hopefully be a franchise for Flash, it would be extremely weird to include this character this early in the game. Especially as this Barry Allen has only been a superhero for a “short” period of time.
NEEDS: Eobard Thawne
This is the reason why we listed several other evil speedsters that the film needs to avoid. A Flash movie needs to start with the most famous speedster villain: Eobard Thawne a.k.a. Professor Zoom (or Reverse-Flash, depending on preference.) While the TV show has done a lot with this character already, that shouldn’t stop the film from doing their version of Eobard since he is Barry’s greatest enemy. It would also be compelling to see Eobard be done without the Harrison Wells factor that the CW series added in from the start.
AVOID: (Most Of) The Rogues
Given that we have spent so little time with the cinematic Flash, it would be weird to see his first movie suddenly have all of the Rogues running around and causing trouble in Central City. The only one that has been established thus far is Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtney) who will make his return in The Suicide Squad. But aside from him, this film needs to exclude the other ones, but we wouldn’t be opposed to maybe Captain Cold making his debut at the end of this story. Have one Rogue debut to start placing seeds for future installments where we could see Barry take on the classic group.
NEEDS: Iris West
Superman has Lois Lane, Green Arrow has the Black Canary, and The Flash has Iris West, the true love of his life. If there is one thing The Flash on The CW has made it perfectly clear is that Iris is Barry’s Lightning Rod and one of the reasons he protects the city every day. While Kiersey Clemons was cast as the iconic character for Justice League before appearing in The Flash, it remains to be seen. It hasn’t been made clear yet if she is still set to reprise the role or if she has silently departed the project. Hopefully, she is still signed on because any Barry Allen story needs to have Iris there. Especially as the film followed the TV show’s inspired choice to cast a woman of color in the role to add some diversity to the Flash family.