CW Executive Mark Pedowitz confirmed that Barry Allen will be coming to the CW lineup this season. Currently the main character in DC’s ongoing comic book series of the same name, this version of The Flash will start as a recurring character on Arrow in the 2013-2014 second season, Pedowitz confirmed.
Over at THR, they have the direct quote from Pedowitz’s presentation at the Television Critics’ Association press tour, confirming Allen and stating that the story will start with his origin:
“We plan to introduce the recurring character of Barry Allen who is the Flash. We’re planning an origin story and we’ll see how it goes. We do want to expand on DC Universe, and we felt this is a very organic way to get there.”
Meanwhile, Greg Berlanti is still also devloping the Flash movie for Warner Bros, Pedowitz also confrimed. He’s attached to direct the film, as well as write the screenplay with Chris Brancato, Michael Green, Geoff Johns, and Marc Guggenheim, and Pedowitz said there is “no conflict” between the developing TV series and feature film. A live-action Flash movie is rumored as in-development with a target release of 2016, which was reported alongside the news of a Superman/Batman team-up movie, which was confirmed.
According to a report on Deadline, Barry Allen will next be running back to live-action, on the CW, in the same universe as their existing DC Comics hit, Arrow. The new TV series, reportedly being “fast-tracked”, and comes from the existing Arrow creators, Greg Berlanti and Andrew Kreisberg, plus director David Nutter and writer/DC Entertainment Chief Creative Officer Geoff Johns. Deadline reports as well that the series will likely spin-off from Arrow, with the character appearing in a late Season 2 episode before heading to his own pilot.
While a Wonder Woman series was the first to go into development after the breakaway success of Arrow, that series did not go to pilot, though is reportedly not entirely dead just yet. It is, however, on hold at the network.
The Flash had a TV series for a season back in 1990 starring John Wesley Shipp as Barry Allen, the fastest man alive. While Shipp is now 58 we don’t expect him to return as The Flash but no one has been named yet to play in the upcoming series or the movie in 2016. Arrow season 2 launches Wednesday, October 9, 2013 at 8pm. Barry Allen’s first appearance on the show should come mid-December.
Producer/writer Andrew Kreisberg, talked about the Flash TV event:”He’s obviously been a strong personal favorite of both Geoff and mine,” said Kreisberg on the call, “So when Greg [Berlanti] approached us and said ‘Hey, what would you think if we did The Flash as a spin-off?’ all of us lit up!” Kreisberg went on to mention that Barry Allen, unlike the other powered members of the Justice League, isn’t a demi-god, an alien, or a king, but rather gets his powers through a freak accident and has a “human and grounded” reaction to it.
“Olver Queen is a very dark and tortured soul, and Barry is not. I think it will be fun to see these two characters together because they have distinctly different world views while both caring very deeply about right and wrong,” Kreisberg teased about the dynamic between the pair. “As excited as we are to write for Barry, we’re really excited about what Barry’s arrival is going to mean for Oliver, for Diggle, for Felicity, and everybody.” Johns added that Barry being a cop (he’s a forensic scientist in the comics, and that’s how he’ll be introduced on Arrow) means “he follows the law, he follows the rules; he’s the last thing in the world you would ever think about as being a vigilante.”
The two characters will “learn from each other,” Kreisberg said, and Barry Allen will really challenge the way Oliver Queen thinks about what a hero is.
While he’ll be a regular forensic scientist in his inital appearance in Starling City, Geoff Johns clarified that this won’t be a “Smallville – The Blur” kind of appearance. He’ll wear a version of his red comic book costume, and he will be identified by his comic book superhero name. “There will be no sweatsuits or strange code names. He will be The Flash.”
Barry will first appear on Arrow in episodes 8 and 9 of season two, though they were unclear whether he’ll become The Flash in one of those two episodes, or not until his third appearance, episode 20 of the season. That final appearance will serve as what’s known commonly in television as a “backdoor pilot.” Rather than a traditional pilot, Barry’s new status quo and some supporting cast members will be introduced in the episode, written by Greg Berlanti, Andrew Kreisberg, and Geoff Johns, and directed by David Nutter. If that director’s name sounds familiar, it’s because he directed the pilots for both Smallville and Arrow, as well as last season’s critically acclaimed (and deeply disturbing) “The Rains of Castamere” episode of Game of Thrones more commonly known as “The Red Wedding.”
“David Nutter is a fantastic director,” said Geoff Johns of the choice. Kreisberg added, “As much as people talk about Greg, Marc [Guggenheim] and I for Arrow, David really made it what it was with his amazing direction and his unparalleled advice and leadership.”
While the pair did not address whether the character will be the same in both the TV series and the upcoming film (also being developed by Berlanti and Johns), they said that casting will be open “to everybody” and they’ll be looking both at “name” actors as well as newcomers. Of course the last important aspect of Barry Allen, The Flash is his power itself: the speed. Johns and Kreisberg said that they’ll be handling his ability in a “very different” way, “something new that people have never seen.”
Since the success of Arrow TV series and now The Man Of Steel movie things are happening at Warner Bros and DC Properties like I have never seen before. Competition is good between production companies namely Marvel and Warner Bros and brings choices in viewing that really entertain us. Comics Talk is here for you and we will keep you informed. Stay tuned comic faithful for more. 🙂 Walt