The Flash (2024 film)

The Flash
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Jackson Miller
Written by	Sara Case Patrick Reid
Based on	The Flash by DC
Produced by	Freddie Goodwin
Starring	Grant Gustin Candice Patton Jesse L. Martin Tom Cavanagh
Music by	Andrew Scott Bell
Production companies	Marvel Studios ITN Studios
Distributed by	Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Release date	March 28, 2024 (2024-03-28)
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$150 million

The Flash is a 2024 superhero film based on the DC Comics character of the same name from DC Comics. Produced by Mob Productions and Freddie Goodwin, and is distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, it is the second film in the Mob Cinematic Universe (MCU). It was directed by Jackson Gustin and written by Sara Caseand Patrick Reid. It stars Grant Gustin as Barry Allen, with cast members Candice Patton, Jesse L. Martin, Dev Patel, Idris Elba, Timothée Chalamet, and Zendaya. In the film, Barry travels back in time to prevent his mother's death, which unintentionally results in his being stranded in an alternate past.

Development on a film based on The Flash began in 2018 with Goodwin hiring Sara Case to write the script. Patrick Reid joined in 2021 and rewrote the script. Jackson Gustin joined to direct and filming began in March 2023 and concluded in July that year.

During production on Deadpool 2 (2018), a reboot for the MCU was being planned by Mob Productions with Goodwin attached to write the screenplay. In June 2021, Reynolds was confirmed to be reprising his role as Wade Wilson/Deadpool in the film.

The Flash premiered in Westwood, Los Angeles, on March 26, 2024, and was released in the United States on March 28, as the second film in Phase One of the MCU. The film received postive reviews from critics. The film grossed $752 million and was a box-office success. A sequel, The Flash and the Multiverse of the Speed Force, is scheduled to be released on July 28, 2024.

Plot

After helping Bruce Wayne / Batman and Diana Prince / Wonder Woman stop a robbery in Gotham City, Barry Allen revisits his childhood home, where he lived with his parents Nora and Henry, before Henry's wrongful imprisonment for Nora's murder. On the day of her death, Nora sent Henry to the grocery store for a can of tomatoes that she forgot to buy, leaving her alone in the kitchen, resulting in her being killed by an unidentified assailant. Overcome by emotions, Barry accidentally uses the Speed Force to form a "Chronobowl" and travel back in time earlier in the day. Despite Bruce's warnings of time travel's unintended consequences, Barry time travels and places the can of tomatoes in Nora's cart at the store, so that his father will not have to leave the house. As he returns to the present, Barry is knocked out of the Chronobowl by an unknown speedster and ends up in a 2013 where Nora is alive. He encounters his parents, his past self, and realizes this is the day he originally obtained his powers.

To make sure his past self gains superpowers, the two Barrys go to the Central City Police Department, where Barry re-enacts the event for 2013-Barry to be struck by lightning. Both end up getting struck by the lightning, giving 2013-Barry powers, but causing Barry to lose his own. As Barry struggles to train 2013-Barry on properly using his powers, they learn that General Zod is preparing to invade Earth. In an effort to fight Zod, the Barrys attempt to assemble the Justice League but are unsuccessful; in this timeline, Diana cannot be located, Victor Stone has not gained his abilities yet, and Arthur Curry never existed. They travel to Wayne Manor, hoping to find Bruce, but instead find an alternate variant who has long retired. Bruce theorizes that using time travel to alter history affects events both prior to and after the alteration. They convince Bruce to return as Batman and help them find Kal-El / Superman.

The Barrys and Batman locate a Kryptonian pod discovered in Siberia. Upon arrival, they instead find Kal-El's cousin, Kara Zor-El, imprisoned in the facility. They rescue Kara and return to Wayne Manor. Barry enlists Bruce's help to regain his power once more. The first two attempts fail, prompting Kara to fly Barry into a storm, where he regains his powers. Kara and Batman join the Barrys to fight Zod and his forces. During the battle, Kara learns that Zod had intercepted Kal-El's escape pod from Krypton and killed him while attempting to extract the Codex needed to repopulate the Kryptonian species. Zod reveals that the Codex is actually within Kara. Zod subdues and kills her, then extracts the Codex from her blood; meanwhile, Batman sacrifices himself in an unsuccessful attempt to destroy Zod's ship.

The Barrys repeatedly time travel to save Batman and Kara but keep failing. Barry realizes that this sequence of events cannot be changed, but 2013-Barry keeps trying. As 2013-Barry travels, the multiverse starts to implode. The unknown speedster who initially knocked Barry out of the Speed Force returns and is revealed to be an older, future version of 2013-Barry who still believes he can defeat Zod and save his Earth. He becomes angry when Barry reveals his intention to reverse the changes he made to the timeline by letting Nora die. The elder 2013-Barry attempts to kill Barry, but instead impales young 2013-Barry, who sacrifices himself to save Barry and wipe his future self from the timeline.

Barry reverts the timeline and comes to terms with his mother's death; however, he subtly alters the past by moving the tomato cans to a higher shelf. Returning to the present day, Barry attends Henry's court hearing, where the security footage now reveals Henry looking up to grab the tomato can, allowing for his exoneration. Barry is then contacted by Bruce, whose appearance has changed once again as a result of the timeline alteration.

Cast

• Grant Gustin as Barry Allen / The Flash: A police forensic investigator from Central City and member of the Justice League who can move at superhuman speeds using the Speed Force. Gustin described Barry as multi-dimensional, with human flaws. Gustin also portrays an alternate younger version of Barry from 2013, and "Dark Flash", a corrupted older version of the same Barry which is similar to the Arrowverse versions of Savitar and the Reverse-Flash, also based in the Flashpoint comic storyline. Ian Loh portrays a young Barry in flashbacks, and Gustin's acting double Ed Wade physically portrays 2013-Barry in scenes featuring both versions of the character.
• Sasha Calle as Kara Zor-El / Supergirl: A powerful Kryptonian who possesses powers, abilities, and a costume similar to her cousin, Kal-El / Clark Kent / Superman. Calle is the first Latina actress to portray Supergirl.
• Michael Shannon as General Zod: A Kryptonian general who possesses the same powers as Superman and was killed by him in Man of Steel (2013). This version hails from an alternate timeline, where Kara landed on Earth instead of Kal-El. Shannon received Man of Steel director Zack Snyder's blessing to reprise his role, after initially being hesitant to do so given the troubled history between Snyder and Warner Bros. regarding his later DCEU productions.
• Ron Livingston as Henry Allen: Barry's father who was wrongfully convicted of his wife's murder. Livingston replaces Billy Crudup, who previously portrayed the character in Justice League (2017) and its director's cut Zack Snyder's Justice League (2021).
• Maribel Verdú as Nora Allen: Barry's mother who was killed in his youth.
• Kiersey Clemons as Iris West: A journalist for the Picture News and love interest for Barry.
• Antje Traue as Faora-Ul: General Zod's second-in-command, who was sent to the Phantom Zone at the end of Man of Steel. This version hails from an alternate timeline, where Kara landed on Earth instead of Kal-El.
• Michael Keaton as Bruce Wayne / Batman: A wealthy socialite from Gotham City who moonlights as a crimefighting vigilante. This version of Wayne is a variation of the DCEU character portrayed by Ben Affleck, as a result of Barry's tampering with the timeline. Keaton previously played the character in the films Batman (1989) and Batman Returns (1992).
  • Affleck appears, uncredited, as the original version of Bruce Wayne / Batman from Barry's timeline and the leader of the Justice League, reprising his role from past DCEU appearances. Director Andy Muschietti said the character has a substantial emotional impact on the film through his relationship with Barry, in part because their mothers were both killed. Affleck said his scenes in the film were his favorite as the character and a "nice finish" for his time as Batman. He added that he felt that the five minutes of his scenes in the film were the first time he "really understood the character" and figured out how to play him.
  • George Clooney appears, uncredited, as a variation of Bruce Wayne, replacing Affleck's version in the ending; Clooney previously portrayed the character in Batman & Robin (1997).

Also reprising their respective DCEU roles are Jeremy Irons as Alfred Pennyworth, Temuera Morrison as an alternate version of Tom Curry from 2013-Barry's timeline, and Gal Gadot and Jason Momoa both appearing, uncredited, as Diana Prince / Wonder Woman and Arthur Curry / Aquaman, respectively. Additionally, Saoirse-Monica Jackson and Rudy Mancuso respectively portray Patty Spivot and Albert Desmond, Barry's co-workers, while Sanjeev Bhaskar appears as Barry's boss, David Singh. Luke Brandon Field portrays Al Falcone, the leader of a terrorist crew who robs Gotham General Hospital in the beginning of the film. Nikolaj Coster-Waldau appears, uncredited, as a man whom 2013-Barry steals a piece of pizza from, and director Andy Muschietti makes a cameo appearance as a reporter Barry steals a hot dog from in the present day. Other appearances include Karl Collins as Henry Allen's lawyer, Kieran Hodgson as a sandwich shop employee, and Sean Rogers as 2013-Barry's roommate Gary.

Adaptations of a number of DC characters make cameo appearances in the film. These include: Henry Cavill as the DCEU version of Superman through computer-generated imagery (CGI). Cavill had filmed additional scenes as the character for the film, but they were removed during post-production; Jai Courtney as Digger Harkness / Captain Boomerang, also through CGI; and Nicolas Cage as an alternate version of Superman, after he previously voiced the character in the unrelated animated film Teen Titans Go! To the Movies (2018). He was originally cast as Superman in Tim Burton's unproduced film Superman Lives. Cage shot his scenes through volumetric capture and CGI was used to de-age him. Through the use of artificial intelligence and deepfake technology, previous incarnations of Superman, Batman, and Supergirl appear during the "Speed Force" sequence, including Christopher Reeve as Superman from the 1978–1987 Superman films, Helen Slater as Supergirl from Supergirl (1984), Adam West as Batman from the 1966 film and television series, and George Reeves as his version of Superman from Superman and the Mole Men (1951) and Adventures of Superman (1952–1958), through the use of archive footage. Archival recordings of Cesar Romero and Jack Nicholson as their versions of Joker from the 1960s Batman series and 1989 film, respectively, along with Eartha Kitt's Catwoman from the 1960s series, are also featured. The character Jay Garrick also appears through the use of CGI; his likeness was based on Jason Ballantine, one of the film's editors.

Production

Development

Development on a film based on the DC character the Flash began in the late 1980s when Warner Bros. Pictures hired comic book writer Jeph Loeb to write a screenplay. Warner Bros. hired David S. Goyer to write, direct, and produce a new version of The Flash in December 2004 after he impressed them with his script for Batman Begins (2005). Goyer approached Ryan Reynolds to portray Wally West / The Flash after working with him on the Marvel Comics-based film Blade: Trinity (2004) and intended to have the character Barry Allen appear in a supporting role. Goyer was influenced for the film's tone by Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy and the Flash comic book runs by Mike Baron, Mark Waid and Geoff Johns. By early February 2007, Goyer left the project over creative differences with the studio, and Shawn Levy was hired to direct and oversee the writing of a new draft written by Chris Brancato, which used elements from Goyer's script. Later that month, Warner Bros. announced the development of a Justice League film, with Michelle and Kieran Mulroney writing the screenplay. George Gustin signed on to direct the film, titled Justice League: Mortal, in September, with Adam Brody cast as the Flash. It was envisioned as the start of a franchise with planned sequels and spin-offs, including the Flash film.

Levy left The Flash in October 2007 because of scheduling conflicts with Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009). David Dobkin took over as director and began developing the film as a spin-off from Justice League: Mortal, with a focus on Wally West. Craig Wright was writing a script for the film the next month, before Justice League: Mortal was canceled and Warner Bros. set a 2008 release for The Flash. Further development was delayed by the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike. Charles Roven joined the project as a producer by July 2009, with Geoff Johns consulting and writing a film treatment that Dan Mazeau adapted into a screenplay. In October, Roven said the studio was not confident enough in their take to green-light the film, though Mazeau disputed this and said the film was moving forward as planned. In June 2010, Green Lantern (2011) writers Greg Berlanti, Michael Green, and Marc Guggenheim were hired to write a new treatment for The Flash based on a recent comics run by Johns that featured Barry Allen. However, Mob Productions took matters into their own hands and made changes to the screenplay to fit into their own narrative for the MCU.

Pre-production

In the early development of "The Flash" (2024), a talented team of developers, Freddie Goodwin, Sara Case, Nathaniel J. Marlowe, Isabella Fontaine, and Gregory P. Hawthorne, were instrumental in shaping the film's direction.

Freddie Goodwin, the film's lead developer, focused on integrating the core elements of the Flashpoint comic book storyline, while also ensuring the script included unique aspects to differentiate it from the source material. He recognized the potential of using time travel to explore Barry Allen's origin story and to incorporate Batman in a novel way.

Sara Case, known for her creative input in storytelling, worked closely with Goodwin. Her contribution was crucial in developing a more emotionally charged narrative, diverging from the comic's structure to offer a suspenseful and engaging experience reminiscent of films like Jacob's Ladder (1990).

Nathaniel J. Marlowe played a key role in adapting the film's release schedule due to the COVID-19 pandemic. His strategic decision-making led to the film's rescheduling to June 3, 2022, aligning with Warner Bros.' shifted calendar.

Isabella Fontaine's involvement was pivotal in casting negotiations. Her efforts led to Michael Keaton entering early talks to reprise his role as Bruce Wayne/Batman from Tim Burton's Batman films, a move that generated significant buzz and excitement among fans.

Gregory P. Hawthorne, overseeing the film's broader narrative structure, contributed to the inclusion of the multiverse concept. This allowed for the integration of multiple character versions and the acknowledgement of past DC film franchises as alternate universes. Hawthorne emphasized the importance of Ben Affleck's Batman as a foundational element of the MCU, ensuring the film maintained continuity while introducing new elements.

Filming

Second unit filming occurred from October 14 to 16, 2020, in New York City, under the working title Red in Dead, to capture visual effects plates and establishing shots. Filming occurred in the Astoria, Sunnyside, and Long Island City neighborhoods in Queens. On October 23, filming occurred in Greenwich Village in Manhattan.

Music

In November 2023, composer Tyler Bates was confirmed to be returning for Deadpool.

Marketing

A trailer was released on December 17, 2023 and confirmed the release date of February 8, 2024.

Release

Deadpool was released on February 8, 2024, as part of Phase One of the MCU.

Sequel

In June 2023, it was announced that a sequel to the first film in the MCU was in development.