The comic:
When police scientist Barry Allen is struck by lightning and doused with chemicals, he gains super speed approaching faster-than-light velocities. He battles the criminal underworld of both Central and Keystone City as The Flash: The fastest man alive. Years later, when his nephew Wally West experiences a similar accident, the boy becomes his protégé Kid Flash, and eventually takes over the mantle of the Flash when Barry sacrifices himself to save the world.
The movie:
By design, a movie titled The Flash needs to be a high-octane, effects-filled superhero adventure. To capture the right tone, the filmmakers would do well to emulate the best of the Spider-Man movies rather than the somber, gritty feel of Christopher Nolans Batman movies. But the biggest question is, which Flash? Barry or Wally? Or somehow both? Rather than starting at the beginning, like most superhero films are compelled to do, the filmmakers should strongly consider skipping past the origin either way, otherwise theyre just retreading material already covered on the
1990 TV show. More importantly, the mechanics of Flashs origin story is pretty standard superhero-fare that could easily be summarized in the opening credits.
The overarching theme of legacy is one of the most unique aspects of the characters mythos. Since much of Wallys time as the Flash has focused on carrying on Uncle Barrys legacy, perhaps a movie could focus on that aspect, beginning with Barrys last battle and following Wally as he struggles with taking over the mantle.
Another standout element is that the filmmakers can have their pick of adversaries. Unlike the usual assortment of solo villains, the Flashs rogues gallery is a unionized blue-collar array of super-baddies, thanks to Geoff Johns
star-making run as writer several years ago.
Suggested director: James McTeigue (
V for Vendetta,
Ninja Assassin). Hes a student of the Wachowski brothers, he showed in
V that with a decent script he can make a smart thriller, hes demonstrated a distinct visual style, and he has an impressive action movie pedigree that has served Warner Bros. well in the past.
Could it happen?
Like many of the DC heroes who are not Batman, development on the Flash movie has gone through many false starts in the last few years. Various directors including
David S. Goyer,
Shawn Levy, and
David Dobkin have had their hands on the project, which is currently in limbo without a director. Charles Roven, one of the producers on
The Dark Knight and other Warner Bros. releases, was recently
taken off of the Flash movie after several years of development while WBs newly formed DC Entertainment branch develops more superhero films internally. The
current screenplay under consideration was penned by Dan Mazeau with Geoff Johns consulting. With
DC Entertainment forming under Warner Bros., it seems that DC fans can look forward to some interesting news regarding film versions of many long-awaited icons in the near future.
