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Credit: Inside the MagicIt’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s… Nic Cage?
Related: Warner Bros. Under Fire For Reckless Canceling of Entire Movies
Serving as the 13th installment in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) — now renamed the DC Universe (DCU) under James Gunn and Peter Safran, The Flash is an upcoming superhero movie starring Ezra Miller as Barry Allen/The Flash, that draws inspiration from the DC Comics character of the same name. Produced by DC Studios, Double Dream, and the Disco Factory, with Warner Bros. Pictures handling distribution, The Flash is set to debut in theaters June 16, 2023.
Despite reports of lead star Ezra Miller’s criminal history, including kidnapping, assault, and disturbing, cult-like behavior, it appears that the new The Flash film is good to go this Summer. Perhaps Miller’s alleged begging of the WBD execs for a second chance actually did something.
Directed by Andy Muschietti and featuring a screenplay by Christina Hodson, the upcoming The Flash movie plot revolves around Barry Allen’s time travel journey to prevent his mother’s murder, which results in unforeseen repercussions for the Fastest Man Alive — to say the least.
The film will feature a colorful cast including Sasha Calle as Kara Zor-El/Supergirl, Michael Shannon as General Zod, Ron Livingston as Henry Allen, Maribel Verdú as Nora Allen, Kiersey Clemons as Iris West, Antje Traue as Faora-Ul, and Michael Keaton as Bruce Wayne/Batman.
However a rather unforeseen casting choice is reportedly making its way to The Flash and the DCU as a whole, in an entirely new variant of the Man of Steel. This is all bearing in mind that Henry Cavill’s Supes, who returned briefly in Dwayne Johnson-centric Black Adam (2022), will no longer be returning as the Last Son of Krypton in the DCU. That we know of, anyway.
The new Superman casting, and why it’s historic
Nicolas Cage has an interesting history with the role of Clark Kent’s Superman.
In fact, Cage was attached to play Superman in the late 1990s — in Tim Burton’s cancelled film project Superman Lives, no less. After the success of Burton’s Batman movies, the studio was hoping for similar success, but Superman Lives was ultimately scrapped by Warner Bros. Allegedly, Christopher Walken was also scheduled to play Brainiac — however that version of the DC timeline would never come to fruition.
Now, however, it appears that Cage has been returned to this elusive but iconic role almost 30 years later, as MCU and DCU industry insider MyTimeToShineHello shares that the actor will debut as “Superman fighting a giant robot spider”.
This film will mark a huge shift in the trajectory of the DC Universe, with the previous characters from Zack Snyder’s “Snyderverse” Justice League likely saying their goodbyes, consisting of Superman/Clark Kent (Henry Cavill), Wonder Woman/Diana Prince (Gal Gadot), Batman/Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck), Aquaman/Arthur Curry (Jason Momoa), and Cyborg/Victor Stone (Ray Fisher), as well as Miller’s Flash/Barry Allen. All of this prefaces Gunn’s incoming DCU reboot, which will feature the incoming Superman: Legacy film that’s already allegedly in pre-production.