Take a good look at the guy in the image above, because he just might take off in a mad dash at any given moment. This is our first look at Grant Gustin as The Flash in an upcoming episode of The CW’s Arrow. Well it’s at least our first look at alter ego Barry Allen, as we may not get to see the traditional red costume until the upcoming pilot, as the CW has chosen to forego their initial intentions to give the superhero a backdoor pilot via an episode later in Arrow’s season. The network will now be giving the speedster his own standalone pilot, proving their confidence in the project.
This news comes after network higher-ups have seen Arrow’s eighth and ninth episodes, where Allen’s Central City assistant police forensic investigator is first introduced. According to Deadline, the highly positive reactions have led them to believe the character is worth more focus, and they’re willing to finance the loftier budget that pilots usually call for. Though it will no longer strictly count as a spinoff, creators Greg Berlanti and Andrew Kreisberg will keep this series in the same universe as Arrow, so don’t count future crossovers out just yet! Everything else about the pilot, from comic master Geoff Johns scripting to David Nutter directing, is staying the same. It’ll just be bigger and hopefully better.
There’s no word yet on whether or not we’ll still get to see Allen in or out of the Flash costume for Arrow’s twentieth episode, but the producers will be considering that this week. We also aren’t completely sure if Flash will be a procedural like Arrow or something more plot-based. Here’s hoping for the latter.
Now how about a few more shots of next week’s episode “The Scientist”, where Allen will team up with Oliver and Felicity on an investigation into a series of unsolved robberies tied to a past tragedy. These aren’t very exciting images, but just look at them through the red lens of an old pair of 3D glasses and picture a lightning bolt on his chest. You’ll perk right up.
And now take a peek at the teaser for this Thursday’s episode “State v. Queen.”
