Summary
- Spider-Man star Tom Holland is being suggested as the next live-action version of The Flash in James Gunn’s DC Universe.
- The future of The Flash in the DC Universe is uncertain after the end of Grant Gustin’s show and Ezra Miller’s movie flop.
- It remains to be seen if The Flash will be included in Gunn and Safran’s upcoming DC franchise, but there is a possibility of a new speedster taking on the iconic mantle.
Spider-Man star Tom Holland gets pitched as The Flash for James Gunn’s DC Universe in new Superman: Legacy fan art. 2023 is the end of the DCEU movies, with Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom set to be the final installment of the franchise. However, as one superhero continuity comes to an end, another one is about to come to life as Gunn and Peter Safran are developing a new era for the DC franchise, with several upcoming DC Universe movies and TV shows slated for Chapter 1, “Gods and Monsters.”.
As Gunn and Safran are tapping new talent to portray some of the iconic heroes in the DC Universe, there are some whose fates in the franchise have yet to be revealed. For the next live-action version of The Flash, Felipe Illa shared new Superman: Legacy artwork, as proof-of-concept, where Holland gets imagined as the Scarlet Speedster.
Holland has been playing Peter Parker in the Marvel Cinematic Universe ever since 2016, where he featured in Captain America: Civil War before starring in his own Spider-Man trilogy. Even though Holland is set to return for Spider-Man 4, the idea of him joining Gunn’s DC Universe is definitely a tempting one, to say the least.
Will The Flash Appear In James Gunn’s DC Universe?
When it comes to The Flash’s future in live-action, it is a tricky one due to how things played out in 2023. After nearly a decade, The Flash season 9 marked the end of the Grant Gustin-starring show on The CW, while Ezra Miller’s The Flash movie became one of the biggest box office bombs of the year. Despite rumors, Gunn has made it clear that Gustin will not be the DC Universe’s Flash, and recent reports have also confirmed that Miller won’t be reprising their role in the upcoming franchise.
Despite having announced many DC Universe movies and TV shows back in January, Gunn and Safran stressed that those aren’t half of the slate of Chapter 1, “Gods and Monsters.” With that in mind, the iconic DC speedster is so far nowhere to be seen on their map road, but could well appear within this window – though there is also another mystery that DC Studios have yet to answer that leaves this unclear. Since Barry Allen has had a massive presence in live-action for the last ten years, there is a chance another speedster who has carried the iconic mantle could appear instead – and indeed, using another character in the Flash lineage could benefit the overall DC Universe.
Either Gunn and Safran already know what they are planning to do with The Flash, or perhaps they are debating if it is time for someone other than Barry to race in the new DC Universe. Given how The Flash IP has grown over the last few years, particularly because of the Arrowverse show, it would be a major shock if the fastest man alive isn’t part of Chapter 1, “Gods and Monsters,” in any capacity. For now, though, the world will have to wait and see what the DC Universe is planning to do when it comes to The Flash.
Source: Felipe Illa/Instagram