EDITORIAL: The DCCU Casting of THE FLASH and Why It Doesn't Sit Well With Me

EDITORIAL: The DCCU Casting of THE FLASH and Why It Doesn't Sit Well With Me

EDITORIAL: The DCCU Casting of the Flash and Why It Doesn't Sit Well With Me

Editorial Opinion
By TheRockmore - Oct 15, 2014 03:10 PM EST
Filed Under: The Flash
EDITORIAL: The DCCU Casting of the Flash and Why It Doesn't Sit Well With Me
 
Pardon the long title....


Ezra Miller is The Flash in the DCCU...



I would like to start this article by saying... YES I do know that Hollywood Reporter HAS scooped that he will be playing Barry Allen in the movie... and no other Flash... although H.R. can be accurate a lot... it has been VERY VERY off at other points, so this will be written from the POV that we do NOT know what Flash he will be playing.

Let's Start of with Ezra Miller himself....



Just a precursor... I don't think this kid is a bad actor at all... on the other hand I find him extremely talented... a common misconception that differs this deemed "miscast" from others is that YES people do seem to mind that Ezra Miller is playing the Flash, BUT it isn't for lack of talent (as people claim(ed) with Batfleck, WW, Ledger...etc...) BUT RATHER for the direction this character is/isn't taking in THIS universe. This is a notion that some people don't understand, so in simpler terms... it isn't the actor everyone is ripping on in terms of HOW he can act... I have yet to see anyone complain about believability as an actor; but this rather is a testament to the direction WB is unfortunately taking the character.

Now, with he with he Flash a success on the CW, and Barry Allen being that Flash, you want to differentiate the Flash of the DCCU from the one on TV...esepecially if you aren't choosing to merge the universe. To start, casting someone just as young (actually 2 years younger) then Gustin... in a world where the heroes are substantially older then that already doesn't seem right...especially when an age differential between Gustin and the DCCU's Flash would have been a nice "separator" between the two. The DCCU also seems to be going with all "older" (not super old :P ) heroes rather than post-college... they seem to be content with early 30's and late 20's....why make the Flash a brooding gothic kid who is in his early 20's? ... Yes...people can be "aged" with movie magic...but anything beyond 3-4 years starts to look unnatural...  This also applies to looks, even if they both played Barry, why would you want them both to look dissimilar in terms of an iconic part of the character (his blond hair).... yes we can all bring up the "but they can dye his hair"... but really? Do you think Ezra Miller would look good as a blond?... Nope? nor do I.




Some may argue that making him look like Grant is a way to pull viewer ship...but in reality a JL/Flash movie doesn't need that...this casting is not only "out there" but unseeable...in this day and age is MATTERS if people look the part of a hero in general...Miller unfortunatley does not. The argument of viewership is one that shouldn't exist, because despite who is cast, people will see the movie...

On top of that, the biggest initial complaint with Gustin was that he didn't look like any of the Flash's from the comics...especially when it came to his hair. Why then would they pick someone who looks more like Grant Gustin then Barry Allen or Wally West ( I assume they will go with Wally...for reasons stated below)... On the other hand, I personally think Grant looks more like Barry then people credit him for, minus the hair, BUT given his performance that has Barry (which is spectacular) that is the least of anyone's worries at this point.

Lastly, this guy is good at one thing...DARK ROLES, not only does he look goth 99.9% of the time, but EVERY role he plays has that hint of goth because that is what is natural to him. Even the roles he is supposed to be a happy character come off as dark and brooding...something that none of the Flash's are.



Now onto which Flash he could play and why (or why not)...


Barry Allen: No, no, no we should NOT see another Barry Allen on screen in any form, I am not just saying this because I love Gustin's portrayal, but in terms of logistics and logic... why would anyone in their right mind create two characters SO alike, age, hair color differential, etc.. fact of the matter is, it would seem they were trying to "recreate the Gustin casting". Personallyif a blond, well built, 30+ year old was cast as Barry Allen today... although I would have minded a little, I would have still been fine with it... they create enough difference that it all makes sense, and that they are clearly different characters who don't have to follow the same events. In this regard people tend to bring up the "Gotham v. Batfleck" comparison, which I find laughable... can you really look at a 12 year old preBatman Bruce Wayne and call him the same character as an aged and seasoned 40+ year old Batman?... No... I don't believe you can.. And to the same end, Smallville, had it been running during MoS, although this comparison is slightly closer, Clark was approximately 26-27 when Smallville ended, and Cavil's MoS was 33... they were still clearly different enough that they could have run concurrently.





Wally West: Yes... if any Flash then this Flash... I will also be bringing Green Lantern into this argument as I find GL and Flash to be two pea's in a pod... Now at first I agreed, Hal and Barry SHOULD be the Flash and GL in the JLA movie....I even thought so after the Arrowverse was confirmed to be separate from the DCCU; but the more I thought about it...the less sense it seemed to make.
 
As mentioned above, the Flash show currently stars  Barry Allen, and producers recently confirmed they would like to bring seemingly, the New 52 version of Wally onto the show eventually. CW/WB/DC has now established 2 out of the 3 logical TV screen trinity choices, with the next in line being, you guessed it....Hal Jordan. I won't go into the logistics of the character or the show because it has been gone over in write ups linked right here.

Onto the cinematic universe and who should be chosen... with the CW using Barry Allen, and Hal Jordan being a theoretical and logical choice... and considering WB isn't Marvel, and they own all the rights to the characters, why compete with themselves?....Why make this a Peter Maximoff (DoFP) vs. Quicksilver (AoU) when they own ALL of the rights? On top of that, if each member of the League is broken down into their core components, especially if you want to diversify the League in both the literal sense, and the sense of their essence, using John and Wally (preNew 52) makes even more sense. On top of all of this, using a Pre-New 52 take on Wally in the DCCU and a Post-New 52 take on the CW allows for two characters who are EXTREMELY different two be developed and never really confused, even their codenames... a CW Wally would likely never grow out of the Kid Flash moniker and a DCCU Wally would just be.. THE FLASH.
 
Just to take a quick glance at the League as it stands (theoretically):

Superman: A man who fights for the people, and stands up to do whats right.

Batman: The brains, who also packs a punch, the methodological leader.

Cyborg: The young, yet driven and smart member of the League.

Wonder Woman: (Rumors say she has been among humans for awhile in DoJ) So, very logical, human ambassador type leader, political in her views.

Flash (Wally): The fun loving, joke cracking "kid" of the team.

G.L. (John): The post war vet who understands that doing things by the law isn't always the best movie...due to his war based past...he gets that.

Shazam?: Wall's counter...the only member of the team who gets Wally, and at times acts like him, but unlike Wally he wants to be more like Superman...to stand for something...but because he is a kid on the inside...he struggles with it. (This is the Barry and Hal relationship)

**Quick note....there are 3 distinctive pairings...and if you have 1 of the 2...you kind of have to have the other or their is no point in having the former: Hal and Barry, John and Wally, Kyle and Wally**

Now I bet there are people out there who will say "but if they ignore Barry and Hal then...." thats just it...they don't have to ignore Barry and Hal...but they don't have to mention them either. The Justice League cartoon, which was among the more popular cartoons of its time did the exact same thing (although Hal had a brief 20 second cameo in JLU). And fans didn't complain, to that point people may say "but those were just kids watching that show, they didn't know that there was a Barry and a Hal". And I respond to that by saying.... 90% of CBM goers have never picked up a comic, nor do they chose to.... then there are the kids that watched that show who have now grown up on comics due to that shows influence...they would get it....all thats left are the fans who WOULD accept the minor swap and the complainers who WOULDN'T...and since majority does rule...well you get it...and most likely, as comic fans do best..people would complain complain complain and then realize it works just fine... as I'm sure they will when Age of Ultron comes out and they see that Hank Pym NOT having a hand in Ultron's creation works just fine
 
**Another reason to include John would be to distance themselves from the very recent 2011 GL movie that didn't do so well at the box office, and disappointed many fans**
 
Many people don't know this...but the JL cartoon did have a very different lineup....pictured below...but they, as WB seems to want to do now....chose to diversify the group.





Bart Allen... well for starters Bart isn't really notable for being The Flash... ever, it was a title he held for less then a year (real time, not comic time). On top of that having a Bart and Barry is JUST as confusing as having a Barry and a Barry.

Final thoughts although disappointed...He will most likely be a preNew 52 version of Wally if anything...that way people can have a semi logical Justice League...Bart was the Flash for all of 1 year (if that even) and is barely known....the "Allen" last name will confuse people regardless of who is playing who...especially the 90% of moviegoers who don't read comics but hear about a show about Barry Allen (B. Allen) and Bart Allen (B.Allen).... the CW seems to be taking a post New 52 take on Wally, one that is less widely known, and will be his routes as Kid Flash, and it would make
sense for the DCCU to elaborate on a part of Wally we most likely won't ever see on the CW, a preNew 52 take on the character

About The Author:
TheRockmore
Member Since 9/9/2014
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