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The superhero genre of the film industry has been thriving for well over a decade now, with various franchises firmly established in Hollywood. DC and Marvel alike have made enormous amounts of money off of their popular heroes and with the genre so explosively popular, both comic companies are rolling out some lesser-known characters and story lines. And as a part of this second wave of hero films on the horizon, DC will reportedly unleash The Flash on cinematic audiences in 2016.
Some comic enthusiasts may cringe at the notion that The Flash belongs to any sort of second tier of elite superheroes. However, the fact is to wider audiences, the character is at least somewhat lesser known than the likes of Batman or Superman, or any of Marvel’s signature characters. For those who pay close attention to pop culture and the entertainment industry, though, The Flash has already started creeping slowly but surely onto the modern stage.
The clearest example of the character’s emergence has been in the building hype for The CW’s fall 2014 television series, which will apparently cover the rise and early days of The Flash (whose real name is Barry Jacobs). The premise for the television show is that Jacobs, while working to solve his mother’s murder, comes into contact with a particle accelerator that explodes and gives him with the power of superhuman speed. Greg Berlanti is the head writer and producer behind the project, and Grant Gustin will star as the first modern actor to bring The Flash/Barry Jacobs to a mainstream audience.
Beyond the television series, the world of gaming has also seen an interesting preview for The Flash, as the character has emerged as the theme of a popular Internet slot machine game. This would be somewhat irrelevant if not for the fact that similar games spreading across casino sites tend to use characters already popularized by modern film. This, perhaps, indicates that prevalence in gaming is something of an unofficial hint of films to come. Casino gaming seems an odd forum for such a hint, but it remains relevant. At one gaming hub, Intercasino, their description of The Flash slot machine makes clever use of the character with the teaser “Up for some fast-paced game play? Join The Flash as he uses his incredible powers of speed.” Essentially, they’re setting up a power and a theme that could be used in just about any realm of gaming. Once The CW’s show launches and the film inches closer, it’s likely that games in other formats
will be on the way.
But as for the actual film—tentatively titled The Flash and set for a 2016 release—very little is known in the way of substance or detail. It stands to reason that the basic premise will be the same as that of the television show, as this is in keeping with the comic. Additionally, Berlanti is currently credited on the film’s IMDB page as the first screenwriter involved, so some similarity is to be expected. But what has fans buzzing in the early going are the casting rumors attached to the project, which have already seen a number of prominent stars linked to, or at least suggested for, the role.
The biggest name rumored to be in contention for the role is probably Bradley Cooper, though DC’s movie wiki lists a range of additional superstars including Chris Pine, Ryan Gosling, Matthew Fox and even Daniel Radcliffe. It will probably be a while before a firm decision is made on who will take on the film role of The Flash/Barry Jacobs, but one thing is certain at this point: The Flash is coming, and true to form, he’s coming fast.