The Flash movie is expected to be based on the 2011 Flashpoint comic book crossover series, written by DC Films co-chief Geoff Johns and penciled by Andy Kubert. Warner Bros. confirmed the news during their Hall H panel at SDCC 2017, revealing the title of The Flash movie to be Flashpoint. Although recent reports suggest that the movie may no longer be titled Flashpoint, that doesn’t mean the story still won’t be inspired by the iconic event series.
In the Flashpoint comic, Flash travels back in time and prevents his mother’s murder at the hands of the Reverse-Flash. But in doing so, he inadvertently creates an alternate timeline – one in which Bruce Wayne is dead and Thomas Wayne is Batman, and Aquaman and Wonder Woman (along with their people) are at war with each other. Moreover, Kal-El never became Superman and Barry Allen never became the Flash. With the help of Thomas Wayne, Barry recovers his powers and travels back in time to stop himself from saving his mother, thus preventing the end of the world.
Although Flashpoint may be the basis for The Flash movie, recent reports indicated that the movie won’t adapt the story page-for-page. Rather, it will take inspiration from the source material but adapt it into somewhat of an origin story. Plus, The Flash’s rogues gallery is supposed to be present for most of the film, not just Reverse-Flash.
THE FLASH MOVIE DOESN’T HAVE A TRAILER YET
The Flash movie doesn’t have a trailer yet. A trailer won’t release until six to eight months prior to the film’s release, and since it hasn’t yet entered production, there’s no telling when that would be.
THE FLASH MOVIE DOESN’T HAVE A POSTER YET
The Flash movie doesn’t have a poster yet, though there have been quite a few imaginative fan-made posters. It’s possible that a teaser poster may release at San Diego Comic-Con 2019 (or earlier), but certainly not before the movie enters production.
THE FLASH MOVIE COULD RELEASE IN 2020
The Flash movie doesn’t have a release date yet, but it could release in 2020. David F. Sandberg’s Shazam! is currently filming, with Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman 2 being the next DCEU movie on the docket to film this year. Furthermore, recent reports indicated that Cathy Yan’s Birds of Prey will roll cameras this fall, which will be followed by Gavin O’Connor’s Suicide Squad 2 in early 2019.
If Warner Bros. continues to film three DCEU movies per year (as they seem to be doing), then it’s possible that The Flash movie could start shooting in mid-2019, thus allowing it to release in mid-to-late 2020. After all, The Flash movie was reportedly going to follow Wonder Woman 2 as one of the next DCEU films to enter production.
THE FLASH MOVIE PROBABLY WON’T REBOOT THE DCEU
The Flash movie may be based on the Flashpoint comic, but that doesn’t mean it will reboot the DCEU. Aquaman, Batman, Cyborg, and Wonder Woman are all expected to appear in the movie alongside Flash and the Flash’s rogues gallery, which makes the film appear to be an adaptation of the Flashpoint comic, but there are multiple ways to implement the story without being a reboot.
Warner Bros. has given no indication that they plan on rebooting the DCEU. Furthermore, the Flashpoint story can serve as both a continuation of the story that has already been established in the DCEU as well as Barry Allen’s origin story, not to mention potentially give Ben Affleck’s Batman somewhat of a concluding arc and finally address the Knightmare timeline. After all, Barry doesn’t know he can time travel just yet.
THE FLASH MOVIE IS DIRECTED BY JOHN FRANCIS DALEY & JONATHAN GOLDSTEIN
The Flash movie is being directed by John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein, who were hired because of their work directing the Warner Bros. comedy movie Game Night. Furthermore, the studio executives were impressed with the story they created (and the screenplay they co-wrote) for Jon Watts’ Spider-Man: Homecoming. And the fact that Barry Allen is a relatable character like Peter Parker is what really drew the filmmakers to the project.