The Flash movie: Release date, cast and everything you need to know

The Flash movie might not have exactly sped to our screens, having been in various stages of development since 2013, but it's definitely happening now so you can officially get excited.

Bringing back Ezra Miller as Barry Allen, AKA The Flash, the movie will be directed by It's Andy Muschietti and written by Bumblebee and Birds of Prey's Christina Hodson, having been worked on by several writers and directors over the years.

That's all in the past now though as it seems it's all systems go for The Flash and despite a slight release date setback (as most upcoming blockbusters have had), it appears to be finally arriving on screens in 2022.

So here's everything you need to know about The Flash movie.

The Flash release date: When is The Flash movie released?

Once the director and writer was confirmed, it was revealed that The Flash would be released on June 3, 2022.

However, that's now been pushed back slightly to November 4, 2022.

The movie is reportedly set to start filming in April 2021 and certainly seems to be gearing up to the start of production, given that there have been several cast announcements in March 2021.

As long as production isn't affected, everything seems to be on track for November 2022, but like in the MCU, DC movies are always subject to delays beyond their control. If any other upcoming DC movie has to shift, that might affect The Flash too.

We're expecting to see The Suicide Squad (August 6) and The Batman (March 4, 2022) before The Flash.

The Flash cast: Who's in The Flash movie?

As already mentioned, Ezra Miller will reprise his role as Barry Allen, AKA The Flash, following his DC debut in Justice League.

The Flash got an expanded role in Zack Snyder's Justice League and his solo movie will also see him joined by Iris West, played by Kiersey Clemons, who was cut from the 2017 version of Justice League, but restored in the Snyder Cut.

Billy Crudup was expected to reprise his role as Barry's father Henry in The Flash, but has had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts, so the role will be recast. However, we do know that Barry's mother Nora will be played by Maribel Verdú.

Now for the really big news though. The movie will feature not one, but two, Batmans/Batmen in the form of Ben Affleck and Michael Keaton, with the latter reprising the role for the first time since 1992's Batman Returns.

That will mean that there will be three Batmans in the DC universe, including Robert Pattinson's upcoming version, but it's all to do with the DC's decision to introduce the multiverse.

"[The Flash] is a bit of a hinge in the sense that it presents a story that implies a unified universe where all the cinematic iterations that we've seen before are valid," Muschietti explained of the multiple Batmans.

"It's inclusive in the sense that it is saying all that you've seen exists, and everything that you will see exists, in the same unified multiverse."

We got our first look at The Flash with Keaton's Batman in concept art revealed by Muschietti at DC FanDome in August 2020.

The movie will also introduce a new Supergirl into the Worlds of DC universe with The Young and the Restless star Sasha Calle cast in the role, making her the first-ever Latinx Supergirl in DC.

"I saw more than four hundred auditions. The talent pool was truly amazing and it was very hard to make a decision, but we finally found an actress who was destined to play this role," praised Muschietti.

The Flash plot: What is Flashpoint?

While we don't know specific details about The Flash's plot yet, we do know that it will be inspired by the Flashpoint comics storyline.

The story – which has been seen in the TV version of The Flash – centres on The Flash attempting to travel back in time to save his mother's life, only for his messing around to create a darker alternate timeline.

We might not have seen it in the 2017 movie, but Zack Snyder's Justice League does show The Flash messing around with the timestream to go back in time at a critical moment, and Snyder has already spoken about how his original Justice League plan would have seen The Flash rewrite history with his abilities.

It appears that his attempts to save his mother's life will be what leads to the multiverse hinted at by the multiple Batmans.

However, it's unclear if we'll see other elements of the comic book Flashpoint storyline, such as Wonder Woman and Aquaman being ruthless warlords and Thomas Wayne being Batman after the death of his son Bruce, which also led to Martha Wayne becoming the Joker.

We imagine the Flashpoint story will just prove the jumping-off point for The Flash, rather than it being a straight adaptation of it.

While we don't know for sure what The Flash will be about, Muschietti has teased the role of Affleck's Batman in the movie. "He's a very substantial part of the emotional impact of the movie," he said.

"The interaction and relationship between Barry and Affleck's Wayne will bring an emotional level that we haven't seen before. It's Barry's movie, it's Barry's story, but their characters are more related than we think. They both lost their mothers to murder, and that's one of the emotional vessels of the movie."

The Flash trailer: Any footage of The Flash movie yet?

Sadly, it hasn't started filming yet, so a trailer is likely a while away yet. If DC holds its FanDome event again this August, we could see some footage there, but otherwise we might be waiting for early 2022.

Watch this space and we'll update as soon as the first trailer lands.

The Flash is set for release on November 4, 2022.

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Aquaman [Blu-ray] [2018]

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DC 5 Film Collection [DVD] [2018]

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Wonder Woman [Blu-ray + Digital Download] [2017] [Region Free]

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The Superman 5 Film Collection 1978-2006 [Blu-ray] [1978] [Region Free]

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Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice – Ultimate Edition

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Ian Sandwell

Movies Editor, Digital Spy  Ian has more than 10 years of movies journalism experience as a writer and editor.  Starting out as an intern at trade bible Screen International, he was promoted to report and analyse UK box-office results, as well as carving his own niche with horror movies, attending genre festivals around the world.   After moving to Digital Spy, initially as a TV writer, he was nominated for New Digital Talent of the Year at the PPA Digital Awards. He became Movies Editor in 2019, in which role he has interviewed 100s of stars, including Chris Hemsworth, Florence Pugh, Keanu Reeves, Idris Elba and Olivia Colman, become a human encyclopedia for Marvel and appeared as an expert guest on BBC News and on-stage at MCM Comic-Con. Where he can, he continues to push his horror agenda – whether his editor likes it or not.