Technically all of Justice League's starring heroes have already been introduced in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, whether they were prominently featured or simply cameoed. But in Aquaman, Flash and Cyborg's case, the superhero team-up movie marks their first prominent appearances in the DC Extended Universe, as they'll be recruited by Batman and Wonder Woman to fight Steppenwolf's forces, and they'll later be joined by the resurrected Superman. Of these "new" players, Warner Bros reportedly considers Barry Allen, a.k.a. The Flash, the breakout character of the bunch.
At the end of its recent article about Justice League's development, The Wall Street Journal mentioned that the Warner Bros executives believe that moviegoers will be especially impressed with Ezra Miller's Barry Allen, so much so that the studio's president of the motion picture division, Toby Emmerich, says that the Flash solo movie has become a priority. Flash has been enjoying popularity in the TV world since 2014 thanks to the CW TV series centered on the Scarlet Speedster, but no doubt for many moviegoers, this will be their first time "meeting" the speedy superhero. So if the WB brass are right on the money, this means means Barry will leave a great "first" impression.
Two versions of Barry Allen appeared in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice last year. The first was a future version of the speedster, who appeared to Bruce Wayne after his Knightmare to deliver cryptic warnings. Later in the movie, the present-day Barry was seen on Lex Luthor's metahuman files, with security footage showing him foiling a convenience store robbery. Months later, Flash cameoed in Suicide Squad, where he was seen thwarting Captain Boomerang's bank robbery. As the Justice League previews have shown, Flash isn't experienced with doing battle, as the extent of his crimefighting has been pushing some people and running away. But when Steppenwolf and his Parademon army come to Earth in search of the three Mother Boxes, Barry Allen and his teammates will have to step up to protect the world in Superman's absence.
A Flash solo movie was one of the initial projects announced as part of the DCEU lineup in late 2014, but following several directorial setbacks and a script re-write, it was announced at San Diego Comic-Con this past summer that the Fastest Man Alive's tale had evolved into Flashpoint, an adaptation of the 2011 event that saw Barry Allen awakening in a drastically-altered version of the main DC Comics timeline. Although it was rumored last week that Warner Bros is holding off on moving forward with Flashpoint until seeing how Justice League performs, Toby Emmerich also told WSJ that Flashpoint is "close to finding a director," and is hopeful it will be greenlit soon.
Justice League opens in theaters on November 17, and keep checking back with CinemaBlend for more news on Flashpoint. As for what the rest of the year's movies are, take a look at our 2017 premiere guide.
