First look at the The Flash movie, which is officially a Flashpoint crossover

Fans got a big update on the future of The Flash in a small package at DC FanDome today. At the “Introducing Flash” panel, Ezra Miller (Justice League), director/producer siblings Andy Muschietti and Barbara Muschietti (It), and screenwriter Christina Hodson (Birds of Prey) revealed concept art of Barry Allen’s new costume, designed by Batman himself, and confirmed a longstanding rumor. Their new Flash movie will be based on the infamous DC Comics storyline Flashpoint.

At FanDome’s Multiverse 101 panel, Warner Bros. president of DC-based film production Walter Hamada said that the new Flash film would lean “into the idea of the multiverse; playing in that sandbox.” Director Andy Muschietti described it as a “time travel story.” “The cinematic multiverse is going to be born out of this movie,” said Hodson.

Image: Warner Bros. Pictures

The Flashpoint rumors were only bolstered when it became clear that not one but two Batman actors were in talks to join the production. Ben Affleck will reprise his role as Batman in the film, according to Vanity Fair, and Michael Keaton is also reportedly also in negotiations to appear as Batman. The filmmakers behind the production also shared that their story would be about Barry’s quest to travel back in time and prevent his mother’s murder: A dead ringer for the events of Flashpoint.

What is Flashpoint?

Image: Geoff Johns, Andy Kubert/DC Comics

In comics, the Flashpoint storyline begins with Barry Allen waking up in a very different DC Universe. Atlantis is at war with Themyscira, nobody has ever heard of Superman, and in Gotham City, Bruce Wayne was murdered in front of his parents’ eyes, and his father became the Caped Crusader instead. Barry is the only person who remembers that it used to be any different, and, eventually, he realizes that it’s all his fault.

The Flashpoint timeline was created when Barry Allen used the power of the Speed Force to travel back in time to stop the villainous Eobard Thawne from murdering his mother (this will sound familiar to fans of the CW’s Flash TV series). That single change rippled out through the DC Universe, leading to enormous changes in history and the lives of his allies in the Justice League.

The Flash movie does not have a release date, but is aiming for a 2022 debut.