In the aftermath of Justice League‘s commercial and critical failure at the box office, the general audience has been left to wonder what the future may be like for the DC Extended Universe. Despite, the film’s poor performance there is a silver lining with the franchise with new management such as Walter Hamada and Chantal Nong coming in as well as films being greenlit that can shine a light on obscure characters that do not often get a lot of public attention.
Even in the face of a potential $100 million loss from Justice League, it would appear that Warner Bros. is still interested in proceeding with the development of the planned Flashpoint film despite the directors not having their deals finalized. The Flash is a character who has been long overdue for a big screen debut, but many people familiar with the popular Geoff Johns’ story of the same name know that it is a multiverse shattering event featuring different versions of characters like Batman, Cyborg, and Wonder Woman. It is a risky move to throw out alternate versions of the Justice League when the plan for the franchise is to sell people on the present versions of these characters within the DCEU. With public trust in the franchise already at polarizing levels it may not be wise for the studio to go ahead with a Justice League 2.0 right now when they are already not 100% sold on the current version.
Of course, it is important to note that a lot of details about the project are scarce and based mostly on speculation, but based on a recent report from That Hashtag Show we may now have a potential outline for the film’s development, production, and the villains for the film. The film is allegedly going to have a budget of $100 million and is preparing to start production on the film in London during the second half of 2018 with a planned 2020 release date, possibly at Warner Bros.’ Leavesden Studio where they filmed Justice League. It is obvious that this film is expected to spend a lot of time in post-production, and as anticipated, it will feature “evil versions of Wonder Woman and other Justice Leaguers in an alternate timeline” created by Barry in an effort to save his mother.
For those that are not familiar with Geoff Johns’ Flashpoint, the story is set in a different timeline than what we’re used to seeing. The popular comic book arc had Barry Allen race back in time to rescue his mother, but in doing so, he accidentally triggered a domino effect that sent a ripple effect throughout the DC Universe. And so, Thomas and Martha wind up surviving that infamous mugging, but the untimely death of Bruce leads the Wayne family down two very separate tracks: one to vigilantism, the other to sheer, unbridled villainy.
Going back to the details of the feature film, THS also disclosed information about who the villains for it will be. According to the report, some of The Flash’s most iconic and beloved Rogues will make their big screen debut. In more detail:
- Eobard Thawne/Reverse Flash will appear in a flashback surrounding Barry’s origins as The Flash.
- Caitlin Snow, but it is presently unknown if she will assume her persona of Killer Frost at some point in the film.
- Dr. Arthur Light, also known as Doctor Light, will apparently be the main antagonist.
- The diabolical duo of Leonard Snart/Captain Cold and Mick Rory/Heat Wave will be around to give our favorite Scarlet Speedster a challenge, whatever that means is presently unknown.
This news while interesting can also be troubling. If THS’ report is true then The film could potentially suffer from being overcrowded with too many villains running around, which we have seen happen in the past with Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 3 and Marc Webb’s The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Hopefully, Warner Bros. considers that and trims off a lot of this excess fat from the film before filming begins. It is possible that most of these villains could have very minor roles or cameos within the film with Doctor Light being the “big bad.” However, this report is not confirmed and we will not fully know if any of it is true until we receive an official confirmation from the studio.
All that is currently known right now though is that Spider-Man: Homecoming writers John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein are attached to the project but as stated earlier, their deals have yet to be finalized by the studio. Outside of that Flashpoint is moving forward alongside other DC-based films such as Shazam!, Suicide Squad 2, Wonder Woman 2, Gotham City Sirens, and presumably Green Lantern Corps and Todd Phillips’ untitled film based on The Joker.
What do you think of this news? Are you excited for Flashpoint? Let us know in the comments section down below!
