Of all the surprises that “The Flash” has in store for us, the latest one is undoubtedly the most unexpected. Back to this most surprising cameo, which almost never happened.
WARNING – The article below contains spoilers for “The Flash”, as it revisits its very last scene and one of its major surprises. Please move on if you haven’t seen it yet.
He had been forbidden to do so, but no: still marked by the murder of his mother, which occurred when he was a child, Barry Allen uses his powers to go back in time and change the past. Without suspecting for a moment the consequences on the present.
Freely inspired by the comic book “Flashpoint”, The Flash sends the superhero to an alternate reality where Batman no longer has the face of Ben Affleck but that of Michael Keaton. Where there is no Superman but a Supergirl (Sasha Calle). And where there is already another version of Barry.
The challenge of the feature film is therefore to pick up the pieces and repair the chronologies… but the DC hero cannot help but leave a very small alteration in order to clear his father. And this has repercussions on his reality, almost unchanged with one major exception: Bruce Wayne no longer has the features of Ben Affleck, or even those of Michael Keaton but… of George Clooney.
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That the actor takes over this role on which he spits at least once a year in an interview can be debated. However, the surprise is huge and unexpected. And that it very nearly never took place, since this end is the third to have been considered.
Just a year ago, The Flash was supposed to be the cornerstone of the DCEU. The film that was to give him a second wind by making him jump with both feet into the multiverse and multiplying his possibilities. The feature film was then to end in the same place, in front of the Palace of Justice, with Barry facing Supergirl and Michael Keaton’s Batman. A way to make us understand that he had not corrected as many things as he wanted.
Shown in several test screenings, this end which canceled the death of Supergirl and Batman was embellished with two additional characters in September 2022. And not the least, since the trio was joined by Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) but especially the Superman of Henry Cavill, who was then preparing to make a comeback in the post-credits scene of Black Adam.
Warner Bros. Pictures First and last images of Henry Cavill’s return to DC
Except that, like a substitute sportsman who comes into play and slams on his first acceleration, the English actor will not be back for long in the DCEU. While a Man of Steel sequel rumor had just resurfaced after its reappearance, the death of the shared universe and its rebirth under the leadership of James Gunn and Peter Safran are officially announced in December 2022.
Gal Gadot and Henry Cavill formalize their respective departures themselves and it is rumored very quickly that the two actors have been cut from The Flash. Rightly so even if the actress still passes a head at the beginning of the story. Because the last scene must again be re-shot, and can no longer open onto the future of the DCEU, which will become the DC Universe.
Eager to keep this idea of consequence of Barry’s actions, without announcing anything, director Andy Muschietti would then have put back on the table a recurring joke from pre-production: “How many Batmans can we have in the movie?” And James Gunn and Peter Safran took the idea of bringing back George Clooney very seriously.
How many Batmans can we get in the movie?
Passed by his agent, to whom they showed a good part of the film, the duo manages to convince the Batman of 1997 to come and shoot this unique scene. And the shots took place in January of this year, in the Warner studios, with George Clooney but also an Ezra Miller whose behavior (accusation of harassment, disturbance of public order and burglary in addition to two orders restrictions for minors aged 12 and 18) almost buried the project.
At a time when it is sometimes very difficult to keep its surprises secret (Spider-Man No Way Home knows something about it, but if certain leaks could have been fed by its studio in order to increase the hype), like George’s cameo Could Clooney keep a secret? Even though the shoot only lasted a morning?
HIDDEN GEORGE
As explained The Hollywood Reporter, this ending has not been tested with the public, unlike the previous two. Including when the feature film was screened at CinemaCon (international convention of cinemas which took place in Las Vegas) at the end of April, or to the press in the weeks that followed.
The scene was there and the spectators understood that the Bruce Wayne they were about to see did not have the head of Ben Affleck. But the film cut before the reveal, and it took until the week before the release for a final version to be screened.
Organized on Tuesday, June 6, the screening we attended therefore contained the missing shots. And we were as surprised to see George Clooney return as Bruce Wayne, as to realize how well the secret had been kept.