The Flash

Plot

After helping Bruce Wayne / Batman and Diana Prince / Wonder Woman stop a robbery in Gotham City, Barry Allen / The Flash 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 pick up groceries she forgot to buy, leaving her alone in the kitchen where she was killed by an unidentified assailant. Overcome by emotions, Barry accidentally uses the Speed Force to travel back in time to earlier that day. Returning to the present, he discusses the incident with Bruce, who warns of the unintended consequences of time travel. Despite this, Barry travels to the day of Nora's death and places the missing groceries in Nora's cart to prevent Henry from leaving the house. As he returns to the present, Barry is attacked by an unknown speedster and emerges in an alternate 2013 where Nora is alive. He encounters his parents and his past self, and realizes this is the day he was struck by lightning and obtained his powers.

The two Barrys go to the Central City Police Department, where Barry reenacts the event so 2013-Barry can gain his powers. Both are struck by lightning, granting 2013-Barry powers but leaving Barry without his own. As Barry struggles to train his younger self on properly using his powers, the Barrys learn that General Zod is preparing to invade Earth. 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 they instead find an alternate version who has long retired. Bruce theorizes that altering history through time travel affects events both before and after the alteration, causing several realities to collapse into a single one. They convince Bruce to return as Batman and help them find Kal-El / Superman.

The Barrys and Bruce 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, where Barry enlists Bruce's help to regain his powers. The first two attempts fail, prompting Kara to fly Barry into a storm, where he regains his powers. Kara, Bruce, and the Barrys fight Zod and his forces. Kara learns that Zod intercepted Kal-El's escape pod from Krypton and, in an attempt to extract the Codex needed to repopulate the Kryptonian species, killed him. Zod reveals that the Codex is actually within Kara before subduing and killing her, extracting the Codex from her blood. Meanwhile, Bruce sacrifices himself in an unsuccessful attempt to destroy Zod's ship. The Barrys repeatedly time-travel to save Bruce and Kara, but keep failing. Barry realizes the sequence of events cannot be changed, but 2013-Barry keeps trying, which causes the multiverse to begin imploding.

Cast

Ezra Miller 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. Miller described Barry as multi-dimensional, with human flaws. Miller also portrays an alternate younger version of Barry from 2013, with producer Barbara Muschietti describing the pair as a "delicious odd couple", and a corrupted older version of 2013-Barry known as the Dark Flash who became obsessed with reversing time and is caught in a time loop. Ian Loh portrays a young Barry in flashbacks, and Miller's acting double Ed Wade physically portrays both versions of Barry in scenes where the two characters are interacting when Miller is playing a particular version.

Sasha Calle as Kara Zor-El / Supergirl:A powerful Kryptonian from an alternative universe who possesses powers, abilities, and a costume similar to her cousin, Kal-El / Superman. Calle is the first Latina actress to portray Supergirl, and had signed a multi-film contract for the DCEU.

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 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: A Kryptonian and General Zod's second-in-command also from an alternate timeline who was sent to the Phantom Zone at the end of Man of Steel

Production

Development

Development on a film based on the DC Comics character the Flash began in the late 1980s when Warner Bros. Pictures hired television writer Jeph Loeb to write a screenplay, before DC Comics president Jenette Kahn hired him to instead write a revivial of the comic book Challengers of the Unknown (1991). After impressing Warner Bros. with his script for the DC Comics–based film Batman Begins (2005), the studio offered David S. Goyer the choice to work on a film featuring either the Flash or Green Lantern, but it was also primarily interested in one for Wonder Woman. Goyer chose the Flash due to the cinematic possibilities of the character and his abilities, and he was hired to write, direct, and produce a new version of The Flash in December 2004, as part of an overall production deal with the studio. Warner Bros. executive vice president (EVP) of production Lynn Harris was set to oversee the film's development after working with Goyer on the Marvel Comics–based film Blade: Trinity (2004) at Warner Bros.'s New Line Cinema. Goyer approached his Blade: Trinity co-star Ryan Reynolds to portray the Wally West version of the Flash and intended to have the character Barry Allen appear in a supporting role. For the film's tone, Goyer was influenced by director Sam Raimi's Spider-Man film trilogy (2002–2007) and Mike Baron, Mark Waid, and Geoff Johns's 1987–2006 The Flash comic book runs. Goyer was also inspired by the Greek myth of Icarus for handling Wally West's use of super speed and the character being a "screw up". He contrasted the Flash with Batman, noting that he is not a vigilante, does not have a secret identity, and enjoys being a superhero. Reynolds met with Goyer to discuss the role in March 2005, when Goyer was writing the script, which was described as having dark themes. Reynolds said he would portray the Flash if Warner Bros. greenlit the film.

In June 2005, Goyer said The Flash would be his next film after Batman Begins, confirmed that Barry Allen and Wally West were both featured, and revealed that an MIT personnel consulted on the film's approach to the character's more cosmic aspects, such as depicting the Speed Force through the relativistic Doppler effect. A year later, Goyer planned to direct The Flash as his follow-up to The Invisible (2007), and completed the first draft by early October. He quietly left in the following months over creative differences with the studio, and announced his exit in early February 2007, when Shawn Levy was hired to direct. He intended to direct the planned film The Hardy Men before The Flash. For approximately three-and-a-half months, he oversaw the writing of a new draft by Chris Brancato, which used elements from Goyer's script. Charles Roven and Alex Gartner joined as producers, with Levy also expected to produce in some capacity. Unlike his prior works, Levy did not intend for the film to be a comedy; instead, he wanted it to have a lighter tone than some previous DC films. Later that month, Warner Bros. announced the development of a Justice League film, with Michelle and Kieran Mulroney writing the screenplay. In August, Reynolds reaffirmed that The Flash was in development alongside the Justice League film, and Brancato had completed a draft by early September. George Miller signed on to direct the Justice League film, titled Justice League: Mortal, later that month. It was envisioned as the start of a franchise with planned sequels and spin-offs, including the Flash film.

Pre-production

In January 2020, Muschietti said the film would still adapt elements of the Flashpoint comic book storyline, because the studio wanted to use that story, but it would tell a different version of it. This allowed for Batman to be featured in the film and for that comic's focus on time travel to be incorporated with the exploration of the Flash's origin story, in which his mother is killed and his father is wrongfully convicted for her murder. Muschietti compared the Flashpoint comic to the horror film Jacob's Ladder (1990) for its structure and likened the film's version of the comic story to a suspense film because of its build-up. He felt that the Flash's prior appearances in the DCEU gave the audience a deeper understanding of the character, allowing for a more emotional experience and a richer story. In April, the film's release date was moved forward to June 3, 2022, when Warner Bros. adjusted its release schedule because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Michael Keaton entered early negotiations in June 2020 to reprise his role as Bruce Wayne / Batman from director Tim Burton's films Batman (1989) and Batman Returns (1992). The Flash was set to disregard the subsequent Batman films that did not feature Keaton—Batman Forever (1995) and Batman & Robin (1997)—and was reaffirmed to introduce the multiverse to the DCEU, with Keaton's version of the character originating from an alternate universe Barry creates in the film. Filming was eyed to begin in the first quarter of 2021, depending on COVID-19 protocols. Fisher discussed his role as Cyborg in the film with Muschietti that month before Warner Bros. set a two-week shoot for Fisher to film what was referred to as a cameo appearance alongside other Justice League actors. Fisher said the studio offered him only a fraction of his traditional salary to reprise the role. In August, Keaton was confirmed to be appearing in the film, and Affleck agreed to reprise his version of Batman. Muschietti explained that the film would introduce the idea of the multiverse to general audiences by featuring multiple versions of characters and acknowledging past DC film franchises as alternate universes. It was important for Muschietti to include Affleck in the film since his version of Batman is the "baseline" for the DCEU, and he felt the introduction of Keaton's Batman would not work as well without first seeing the Flash's relationship with Affleck's Batman. Affleck chose to return after retiring from the role because he would have a smaller role in the film.

During the virtual DC FanDome event "Explore the Multiverse" in September 2020, Barbara Muschietti said the film would feature many characters from the DC Universe, and the Flash would serve as the bridge between them and their different timelines. She added that the film would be used to restart the continuity of the DCEU without disregarding the events of the prior films. Crudup, who left the film during the changes in directors, entered negotiations to rejoin a month later. Clemons's involvement was uncertain at that point. The film's release date was pushed back to November 4, 2022, due to further pandemic-related delays, and filming was set to begin in March 2021 in London. Warner Bros. had Cyborg written out of the film by January 2021 after Fisher refused to work on any project involving Hamada. Fisher said this was due to Hamada's handling of an investigation into the on-set behavior of Justice League's replacement director, Joss Whedon. The role of Cyborg was not expected to be recast. At that time, the Muschiettis were preparing for production in the United Kingdom, with filming set to begin in April at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden, after Miller finished on The Secrets of Dumbledore. Construction of the sets at Leavesden Studios had begun by February, with the production creating a life-sized replica of the Batcave from scratch while the Batmobile used in Keaton's films was transported to the set from Los Angeles using an airport cargo truck, due to a global shortage of shipping containers at the time. Paul Austerberry and Alexandra Byrne were the respective production and costume designers.

Filming

Principal photography began on April 19, 2021, at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden, in Watford, England, under the working title Baby Shower. Henry Braham was the cinematographer after previously working on the DCEU film The Suicide Squad (2021). He described the film as "technically complex" despite not being based in realism. In early May, filming took place at Burghley House in Stamford, Lincolnshire, which doubled for Wayne Manor. In the middle of June, Miller, Clemons, Keaton, and Calle filmed scenes at St Paul's Cathedral in London, with the surrounding locations designed to portray Central City. Filming was also set to occur later that month in Edinburgh and Glasgow—doubling for Gotham City—for scenes with Affleck and Keaton. In late July, filming continued in Glasgow at Ingram Street, George Square, John Street, and Cochrane Street and involved several vehicles, while filming with the Batmobile occurred in George Square, but was temporarily halted after a camera operator on a motorcycle shooting behind the Batcycle on Renfield Street collided with it near West George Street. The operator was injured but not "seriously hurt". Keaton finished filming his scenes by the middle of August. In early September, Luke Brandon Field said he had joined the cast, playing Al Falcone. Filming lasted 138 days, and wrapped on October 18, 2021. During production, Miller filmed a cameo appearance for the first-season finale of the DCEU series Peacemaker (2022).

Post-production

In December 2021, Michael Shannon and Antje Traue were revealed to be reprising their roles from Man of Steel (2013) as General Zod and Faora-Ul, respectively. Daley and Goldstein, former co-writers and co-directors of the film, were also confirmed to be receiving story credit for the film alongside Hodson. Temuera Morrison, who portrays Aquaman's father, Thomas Curry, in Aquaman (2018) and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2023), was reported to be in the film in February 2022. In March, Warner Bros. adjusted its release schedule due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the workload of visual effects vendors. The Flash was moved to June 23, 2023, to give VFX teams more time to complete work; it had around 2,500 visual effects shots. In April 2022, Discovery, Inc. and WarnerMedia merged to become Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), led by president and CEO David Zaslav. The new company was expected to restructure DC Entertainment, and Zaslav began searching for an equivalent to Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige to lead the new subsidiary.

The final writing credits for The Flash were also revealed in April: Hodson received screenplay credit; Daley, Goldstein, and Harold received screen story credit; and off-screen credit for additional writing material went to Rebecca Drysdale, Famuyiwa, Grahame-Smith, Johns, Lord, Christopher Miller, Ezra Miller, Morrison, and Adam Sztykiel. In May, Deadline Hollywood reported that an unspecified "high-profile" comic book film that would be released in 2023 had its script recently submitted to the Writers Guild of America (WGA), having a total of 45 writers involved in it throughout its development. Some commentators believed that the film was The Flash, due to its lengthy development process. Miller later participated in "regularly scheduled additional photography" in the middle of 2022. By August, the visual effects were expected to be completed by the end of the year, and were provided by DNEG, Scanline VFX, and Wētā FX. John "DJ" Desjardin served as the VFX supervisor after working on several DCEU films, while Paul Machliss and Jason Ballantine co-edited the film; Ballantine previously collaborated on Muschietti's films It (2017) and It Chapter Two. Machliss said the film was the first to use new technology to feature different versions of an actor on-screen, while Muschietti said the film's visual effects were intentionally designed as being viewed from the Flash's perspective. He added that his initial cut of the film was around four hours long, and featured additional "nostalgic" cameos and a different ending that were cut.

Following several controversial incidents and arrests involving Ezra Miller throughout 2022, WBD considered various options for the film after previously hoping that delaying its release would help avoid controversy. In August, WBD was considering three options: providing Miller an interview explaining their behavior and doing limited press for the film should they choose to accept professional help, with the film being released as planned; excluding Miller from all press of the film and recast their character in future projects should they choose to reject professional help; or cancel the film as a "last resort" if the situation further deteriorated. The latter was considered an "unprecedented move" due to its large budget, although it would have come after WBD already canceled the nearly complete $90 million film Batgirl that was being produced for the streaming service HBO Max. WBD was not considering recasting Miller's role in the film because they were portraying multiple characters and appearing in nearly every scene. It was also considered "key" to the studio's future DCEU plans and was well-received during test screenings despite Miller's legal troubles. Zaslav reiterated that The Flash received positive responses from the studio, and that they were committed to releasing it in theaters. Miller released a public apology through their representative soon afterward and announced they were seeking professional treatment for "complex mental health issues". Soon after, Miller and their agent met with Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy, the co-chairpersons and co-CEOs of Warner Bros. Pictures Group, to apologize for their behavior. Barbara Muschietti later rejected reports that the film's release would have been canceled due to Miller's actions.

Music

Benjamin Wallfisch was set to compose the film's score by April 2021, after previously collaborating with Muschietti on It and It Chapter Two as well as scoring the DCEU film Shazam! (2019). By late August 2022, Wallfisch was set to begin a scoring session at Abbey Road Studios in London. Wallfisch referenced the themes from the 1989 Batman score and the Batman Returns soundtrack by composer Danny Elfman throughout the film, due to the inclusion of Keaton's Batman.

Marketing

Miller debuted the first footage from the film at the virtual DC FanDome event in October 2021. They said there was not enough footage available to make a full trailer or teaser, but William Hughes at The A.V. Club felt the footage could comfortably be categorized as a teaser. He said being able to see it was proof of the film being made after its long and troubled production history. Polygon's Matt Patches and io9's James Whitbrook both highlighted the footage as the beginning of the DC multiverse on film, with its hints at Keaton's version of Batman and the reveal that Miller would portray multiple versions of Barry Allen. In February 2022, more footage was released as part of a teaser for Warner Bros.'s 2022 slate of DC films, which also included The Batman, Black Adam, and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (before The Flash and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom were delayed to 2023). A new trailer was shown at Warner Bros.'s CinemaCon panel in April 2022, and was noted by attendees for Keaton's Batman reusing the line "You wanna get nuts? Let's get nuts" from Batman. The following month, the costumes for the Flash and Supergirl were shown at Warner Bros.'s booth at the Licensing Expo in Las Vegas.

DC Comics published a three-issue prequel comic book limited series titled The Flash: The Fastest Man Alive, starting in September 2022, written by Kenny Porter. It is set after the events of Justice League and depicts Batman training the Flash and the Flash's early days as he attempts to defeat various supervillains. The first trailer for The Flash was shown during Super Bowl LVII on February 12, 2023, before playing in theaters ahead of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. The trailer had the most engagement on social media, outpacing other trailers that were shown for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, with RelishMix reporting the trailer gained 97.4M views within 24 hours. Many commentators highlighted Keaton's reprisal as Batman and Calle's role as Supergirl and also noted the de-emphasized focus on Miller's Flash following their controversies. Charles Pulliam-Moore of The Verge particularly felt that "it's the other heroes they're [the Flash] going to be allying with who are likely to steal the show", and felt that Supergirl and Keaton's Batman were being posited as the film's "World's Finest", and expressed enthusiasm for Supergirl's role in the story. Alli Rosenbloom at CNN also praised Keaton's appearance, highlighting the usage of Danny Elfman's score from Batman, while Collider's Collier Jennings felt that trailer "certainly is working to sell the image that the wait was worth it".

In April 2023, DC and Warner Bros. Discovery Global Consumer Products unveiled a series of merchandise to coincide with the release of the film, including toys produced by Mattel, Funko, Spin Master, and McFarlane Toys, as well as costumes by Rubies and Puma shoes. It was also announced that a visual companion would accompany the film's release, titled The Flash: The Official Visual Companion: The Scarlet Speedster from Page to Screen, written by Richard Lotowcyz and published by Insight Editions. An in-progress cut of the film was screened at CinemaCon on April 25, 2023. Warner Bros. was estimated to have spent over $14 million to promote the film via TV spots and trailers during the 2023 NBA playoffs. A second trailer and poster were released online the same day. Joshua Rivera at Polygon noted the trailer focused heavily on Keaton's Batman, including starting and ending with him, and felt it leaned into nostalgia, while David Crow of Den of Geek compared the trailer's tone and Batcave design to that of director Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Trilogy (2005–2012). The final trailer, set to Pink Floyd's "Time", was released on May 22, 2023. The trailer confirmed the appearance of Jeremy Irons, reprising his DCEU role as Alfred Pennyworth. Shortly after the film's release, a six-part Apple podcast titled The Flash: Escape the Midnight Circus was announced. Max Greenfield voices Barry Allen / The Flash in the podcast, which takes place a few years after the film's ending. The podcast series was included with the film's physical home media release.

Release

Theatrical

The Flash premiered on June 12, 2023, at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, and was released by Warner Bros. Pictures in the United States on June 16, 2023. The film was initially scheduled for release on March 23, 2018, when Warner Bros. first announced its slate of DCEU films, before it was moved to March 16. In July 2016, this release date was given to Tomb Raider, and The Flash was not given another release date until Muschietti's hiring in 2019, after which the film was slated for release on July 1, 2022. It was then moved up to June 3, before it was delayed to November 4, 2022, when Warner Bros. adjusted its release schedule because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The studio then delayed the release date to June 23, 2023, due to the pandemic's impact on the workload of visual effects vendors, before moving it forward a week to June 16 after positive test screenings.

Home media

The Flash was released on digital download and on the non-fungible token (NFT) Eluvio blockchain by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment on July 18, 2023, making it one of the first feature films to be made available on a blockchain. This was followed by its release on the Warner Bros. streaming service Max on August 25, and on Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray, and DVD on August 29, 2023.

Reception

Box-office performance

The Flash grossed $108.1 million in the United States and Canada, and $163.3 million in other territories, for a worldwide gross of $271.4 million. It was a box-office bomb, with projected losses for Warner Bros. to be as much as $200 million. Several publications commented on its box office revenue, with The Hollywood Reporter calling it "snubbed" and /Film saying that the hype "proved to be hot air" following poor box-office returns. The film's low box-office opening was attributed to various controversies surrounding Ezra Miller, mixed word-of-mouth, competition from Sony's Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, early hype being "unwarranted", the imminent DCU reboot, superhero fatigue from audiences, and middling critical reviews.

In the United States and Canada, The Flash was released alongside Elemental and The Blackening, and was initially projected to gross $68–85 million from 4,234 theaters in its opening weekend. It was also expected to gross $85–95 million internationally, for a global opening of $155–165 million. However, after making $24.1 million on its first day (including from $9.7 million Thursday night previews), weekend estimates were lowered to $60 million. It went on to have a $55 million domestic opening, with an additional $75 million from international markets, for a worldwide debut of $130 million. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, the film debuted leading the box office with £4.2 million ($5.4 million). The film retained IMAX screens and other premium formats into the following weekend, which could have provided some padding from what was expected to be a steep box-office decline from its opening weekend. In its second weekend, the film dropped 72% to $15.1 million, the third-largest such drop ever for a superhero film up to that point, behind Morbius (2022) and Steel (1997). In its third weekend, the film dropped another 65% to $5.2 million, losing 1,538 theaters and finishing in eighth place in the process.

Critical response

The Flash received mixed reviews from critics. Early reviews generally praised the humor, action sequences, and the performances, but criticized the third act and visual effects. The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes calculated that 63% of 390 critic reviews were positive and the average rating was 6.3 out of 10. The website's critical consensus reads, "The Flash is funny, fittingly fast-paced, and overall ranks as one of the best DC movies in recent years." Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 55 out of 100 based on 55 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale, tied with Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) as the lowest grade for a DCEU film, while PostTrak reported 77% of filmgoers gave it a positive score, with 59% saying they would definitely recommend it.

Rolling Stone's David Fear identified the film as being the best in the DCEU but cited the complicated production and Ezra Miller's legal controversies as detracting elements. Nevertheless, he acknowledged that Miller could adequately portray the two different Barrys, but lamented, "It is not what we'll talk about when we talk about Ezra Miller." He praised Keaton's and Calle's performances, feeling that Batman felt well into the narrative while commenting that the script was "primed for both nimbly quickening the action and slowing down enough to wink, nudge, and crack jokes". He criticized the action sequences, comparing them to cutscenes and the post-credits scene. Joshua Yehl of IGN gave the film a seven out of ten, praising Muschietti's direction and its focus on Barry's "emotional journey". He enjoyed the film's logic and depiction of time travel, while noting that it effectively integrated the Flash's origin story. However, he disliked the inclusion of fan service, the third act, and Supergirl's role in the film. Nevertheless, he praised Keaton and Affleck's performances as Batman and also said Calle did "as much as she can given the thin nature of the role". Ultimately, he opined that it felt like a "love letter to the Snyderverse" and called it a "fitting swan song" for the DCEU.

From Vulture, Angelia Jade Bastién criticized the film for being too dependent upon previous DCEU elements and disliked that the film did not explore Barry's emotions following his mother's death, but instead used the event as a "springboard for uninspired multiverse plotting". She felt Miller's performance was acceptable, the script limited Calle's, and Keaton's was enjoyable. Bastién disliked the visual aesthetic and use of computer-generated imagery (CGI), ultimately describing the film as "the cinematic equivalent of a snake eating its own tail" and "closing down of all the possibilities a multiverse is meant to represent". David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter praised Miller's performance despite noting their legal troubles impacted the film's reception. He also called Calle a "scene-stealer", and Keaton's "sadness" in portraying Batman. His biggest highlights were the opening sequence, which he felt firmly established the comedic tone; Hodson's writing and characterization of Barry as a "virginal nerd who has gone through college without managing to acquire much self-assurance, even after mastering his superpowers"; and Muschietti's overall direction. However, he criticized the runtime, thought the final act was formulaic, and thought the nostalgic elements "often threatens to marginalize the central plotline" but still managed to "yield pathos" in the narrative.

Accolades

The Flash was nominated for Best Teaser at the 2022 Golden Trailer Awards. At the 51st Saturn Awards, it received nominations for Best Superhero Film and Best Supporting Actor in a Film for Keaton. The Flash won the Emerging Technology Award at the 22nd Visual Effects Society Awards for the development of "Volumetric Capture". Verdú won Best Female Performance in an International Production at the 32nd Actors and Actresses Union Awards.

Future

By October 2022, a script for a sequel had been written by David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick, who wrote the Aquaman films, in the event The Flash performed well. The script reportedly included Keaton's Batman and Calle's Supergirl. Warner Bros. was not expected to retain Miller for future films because of the actor's controversies and legal issues, although some Warner Bros. executives were open to continuing with Miller by January 2023, since they began treatment. Later that month, Gunn and Safran said there was potential for Miller to reprise their role in the new DCU franchise, but a decision on the character had not been made. Gunn confirmed that The Flash would reset the continuity of the DCEU and lead into the DCU's first film, Superman (2025). The Muschiettis intended for Miller to return for a potential sequel because they preferred the actor for the role, while the director also expressed interest in featuring Eobard Thawne / Reverse-Flash as an antagonist for a sequel after the character was responsible for Nora Allen's death in the film.

Ahead of The Flash's release in June 2023, TheWrap reported that a sequel was "on the table" with the potential for it to be greenlit being dependent on the film's box-office performance; The Flash needed to earn around the box-office gross of DC's The Batman ($770 million) for a sequel to move forward. The poor box-office performance of The Flash led many commentators to question and doubt the prospects of a sequel being made. Upon the film's release, DC Studios hired Muschietti to direct a new Batman film entitled The Brave and the Bold for the DCU. In October 2023, Variety reported that no actors from Zack Snyder's DCEU films, including Miller, would reprise their roles in the DCU.