In 2023, The Flash finished its nine-season run on The CW, and with it came the official end of the main Arrowverse continuity. Now that his time as Barry Allen is over, Grant Gustin is currently keeping busy with his dream gig on Broadway, but he did recently say he’d be game to reprise the Scarlet Speedster if DC Studios co-head James Gunn asked him to do so for the DC Universe. Tom Cavanagh, who performed opposite Gustin in The Flash, knows fans want his co-star to don the red suit again in either an upcoming DC movie or upcoming DC TV show, but he has a better idea: bring him back as Reverse-Flash!
Along with playing multiple versions of Harrison Wells, Cavanagh memorably played Eobard Thawne, a.k.a. Reverse-Flash, across the entirety of The Flash, specifically the older Eobard who disguised himself as Earth-1’s Wells. Despite the TV show ending, Cavanagh isn’t ready to hang up his yellow suit just yet, as he said the following at Toronto Comic-Con (via TomCavanaghFans) when a fan asked him if he’d want to keep playing Reverse-Flash:
Yes! James Gunn! James, where are you? James! James, I’m right here, pretty solidly built, still athletic. Not the youngest cat, but pretty good, pretty fast on my feet, can move pretty good. I would love to work for you, Gunn. I hear all this stuff about social media, about Grant Gustin. C’mon, he’s got a job. Reverse-Flash…
That job Tom Cavanagh’s referring to is, as indicated earlier, Gustin playing Jacob Jankowski in Water for Elephants, based on the same-named 2006 novel by Sara Gruen which was previously adapted into a 2011 movie starring Robert Pattinson and Reese Witherspoon. The Broadway production has now opened following previews that began on February 24, so we can presumably expect Gustin to be sticking around the stage for a while. Taking that into account, Cavanagh thinks James Gunn’s energy would be better spent recruiting him back for another round as Reverse-Flash on the DC Universe Chapter One slate.
To be fair, although the DC Universe is a new shared continuity, there are a few familiar faces from the DCEU who are sticking around, including John Cena’s Peacemaker, Viola Davis’ Amanda Waller and Xolo Maridueña’s Blue Beetle. So it wouldn’t be entirely weird for James Gunn to have someone from the Arrowverse reprise their role in this franchise; why not have it be Tom Cavanagh? Now granted, he almost certainly wouldn’t play the same Reverse-Flash from the Arrowverse, as that Eobard Thawne met his permanent demise in the Season 8 finale, although he was seen one last time in the series finale when Blue Cobalt plucked him, along with Zoom, Savitar and Godspeed, from different points in history and brought them to the present day.
Still, as much as I’d like to see Tom Cavanagh back as Reverse-Flash, it’s likelier that a new actor will be cast in the role for the DC Universe. Having said that, there’s still no indication of when or even if The Flash will appear in this universe. Ezra Miller did reprise Barry Allen for The Flash movie last year, but there’s been no mention of him returning to the role for the DC Universe. I imagine there will eventually come a time when this hero races across the big screen again, and when that day comes, it’d be great to see him fighting Reverse-Flash, whether it’s Tom Cavanagh’s or someone else’s.
If you’d like to revisit Cavanagh’s time as the antagonistic speedster, all nine seasons of The Flash can be streamed with a Netflix subscription. Otherwise, remember that the DC Universe will get underway later this year when Creature Commandos premieres to Max subscribers, and the Superman reboot will follow on July 11, 2025.
