The DC Universe is known for its twists and turns, both in front and behind in the camera. The next upcoming DC movie arriving in theaters is Andy Muscheitti’s The Flash, which has been a very long time coming. The blockbuster looks like a wild ride through the multiverse, and even brought back Man of Steel’s Michael Shannon as Zod. While the movie is adapting the Flashpoint comics, there are a few big differences, including the absence of Batman’s parents. And now we know why The Flash movie doesn’t turn Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s Thomas Wayne into Batman like in the comics.
Jeffrey Dean Morgan had a small but memorable role in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice playing Batman’s father Thomas Wayne. In the Flashpoint comics, Barry Allen’s actions result in Bruce Wayne dying as a child, with his father and mother becoming Batman and Joker respectively. The Flash director Andy Muschietti recently spoke to EW about the DC flick, and shared why certain plot points like Thomas Wayne’s Batman weren’t included. In his words:
We didn't want to give the audience a literal adaptation of the comic book. I think that's one of the good decisions that we made. If you see the movie, you don't know where this is going. And as much as some people would've liked to see that literal adaptation, I think we did the right thing. I think that they will be gratified by seeing that the story takes another direction.
There you have it. It looks like the folks behind The Flash weren’t aiming to do a completely accurate adaptation of Flashpoint. While it’s still a story about the Scarlet Speedster going back in time to save his mother, exactly how this changes the universe in the movie is going down differently than the source material. And hopefully that means that even the most hardcore DC fan can be surprised by the film’s contents.
Reviews for The Flash are rather positive, so maybe Andy Muschietti did the right thing regarding how it adapted the Flashpoint comics. Still, it would have been thrilling to see Morgan as Batman, especially if it was opposite Lauren Cohan as Martha Wayne/Joker. Fingers crossed that these plot lines play out in a possible sequel. For their part, both Morgan and Cohan have expressed interest in making this happen. Hey, anything’s possible.
While Thomas and Martha Wayne seemingly aren’t in The Flash, it’s still going to be a wild multiversal story. Both Ben Affleck and Michael Keaton will be playing Batman throughout its runtime. Ezra Miller is playing two different versions of Barry Allen, while we’ll also be introduced to Sash Calle as Supergirl. We’ll just have to see how all these characters factor into the movie’s story.
The Flash will hit theaters on June 16th. In the meantime, check out the 2023 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience.
