Fans of the Arrow-verse have the luxury of resting easy knowing that all of their CW superheroes will be returning next year for at least one more season. Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl, and Legends of Tomorrow are all coming back and the early renewal is already paying off. In the case of The Flash, the producers can start planning out the next season earlier than usual. The Flash's third season has been in a major funk thanks to some dour and repetitive storytelling and Andrew Kreisberg confirms at least one change in Season 4 that should instantly improve the show: no main villain speedster.
Next season we're not going to have a speedster.
Finally! And it only took three years.
Paleyfest was the place to be this weekend, as the convention held a panel that contained an assemblage of all the Arrow-verse television shows. It was here that executive producer of The Flash, Andrew Kreisberg, revealed (via TVLine) that a speedster would not be the Big Bad of Season 4. Kreisberg did not reveal any more detail than that, so the identity of this average speed villain is a mystery. The Flash has one of the best Rogues Galleries in comics, so it shouldn't be too hard for the writing team to find a compelling enough villain.
Barry Allen has certainly tangled with his share of speedsters. Season 1 saw him battle The Reverse Flash, a villain in a Flash-like costume who pretended to be an ally, and Barry devoted himself to getting fast enough to stop him. Then in Season 2, he fought Zoom, a villain in a Flash-like costume who pretended to be an ally, and then Barry devoted himself to getting fast enough to stop him. Now in Season 3, he faces Savitar, a villain in an aggressively not Flash-like costume, who MIGHT be pretending to be an ally (jury's still out) and then Barry devotes himself to getting fast enough to stop him. As you probably gathered, this show got really repetitive, and any way they can shake it up is a win for viewers.
As for who could be the main villain of Season 4, it's way too early to say, but there's a ton of possibilities. For one thing, The Flash has never really done a true assemblage of The Rogues, a team of Flash baddies who just want to commit some crimes. The various members have all shown up separately on the show but have never actually formally teamed up (there are a few exceptions). With their leader, Captain Cold, poised to come back from the dead and return to villainy on Legends of Tomorrow, it might finally be The Rogues time to shine. There's also Gorilla Grodd, who may be too expensive, but just let me dream okay?
The Flash is currently airing Season 3 Tuesday's at 8 p.m. EST on the CW.
