‘The Flash’: DC Film To Adapt Flashpoint Storyline

It was announced today at San Diego Comic-Con today that DC Films’ The Flash will adapt the Flashpoint storyline. Warner Bros. revealed that the film’s title is Flashpoint at Comic-Con International in San Diego.

Written by Geoff Johns, Flashpoint is a key story arc in DC Comics lore. The 2011 comic book crossover follows Barry Allen, who decides runs back in time to prevent the death of his mother and by doing so creates an alternate timeline where he never becomes the Scarlet Speedster and the DC Universe is forever changed.

Flashpoint has been adapted a couple times since its inception. Once through the animated movie Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox and more recently in the third season of The Flash television series on The CW. If done right, Flashpoint could be DC Films version of Captain America: Civil War. The film could take major plot points from the comics by possibly giving us a big screen version of Thomas Wayne as Batman played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan and a war between the Atlanteans and Amazons. A summary of the plot can be found below.

“Flashpoint details an altered DC Universe in which only Barry Allen seems to be aware of significant differences between the regular timeline and the altered one, including Cyborg’s place as the world’s quintessential hero much like how Superman is in the main timeline, with Superman himself being held captive as a lab-rat by the United States government within an underground facility in Metropolis. In addition, a Thomas Wayne version of Batman, whose son Bruce Wayne is dead instead of him and his wife Martha (who becomes The Joker), spends his days “running Wayne Casinos” in order to help fund his vigilante activity.”

The Flash has had some trouble finding its footing. Losing multiple directors, missing and then cancelling the film’s start date this past winter and receiving a page-one rewrite of the script has caused major trepidation for fans of the character. With the knowledge that the film is based on Flashpoint, DC fans may now have more of an incentive to look forward to the film.

Recently, Robert Zemeckis and Matthew Vaughn emerged as the front runners to direct The Flash and it seems DC Films co-head Geoff Johns is very keen on the former directing the project. He even went as far as to praise him as his favorite director a few days ago at Comic-Con. The only hurdle currently standing in the way is that Zemeckis has to film a project with Steve Carrell that’s based at Universal, but it appears that DC may be willing to wait for him.

For now, Ezra Miller’s The Flash is set to appear in the upcoming DC mega-event Justice League alongside Ben Affleck as Batman, Henry Cavill as Superman, Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, Jason Momoa as Aquaman, Ezra Miller as The Flash, Ray Fisher as Cyborg, Amber Heard as Mera, J.K. Simmons as Commissioner Gordon, Willem Dafoe as Vulko and Cieran Hinds as Steppenwolf. Here’s the film’s official synopsis:

“Fueled by his restored faith in humanity and inspired by Superman’s selfless act, Bruce Wayne enlists the help of his newfound ally, Diana Prince, to face an even greater enemy. Together, Batman and Wonder Woman work quickly to find and recruit a team of metahumans to stand against this newly awakened threat. But despite the formation of this unprecedented league of heroes—Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Cyborg and The Flash—it may already be too late to save the planet from an assault of catastrophic proportions.”

Justice League is set to hit theaters November 17th, 2017.