James Gunn Dismisses Fan Hopes For ‘The Flash’

As the new creative head of DC Studios, filmmaker James Gunn is remarkably accessible to fans. He frequently responds to questions on social media, but, more often than not, it is to casually dismiss the ardent hopes of his audience.

To be fair, DC fans have a whole lot of questions, speculations, theories, and straight-up demands for James Gunn, particularly when it comes to the character the Flash. Over the last few years, DC’s preeminent speedster has had a pretty rough go of things, and it seems one particular hope has been dashed.

Related: Secrets Leaked After Ezra Miller’s ‘The Flash’ Tanks at Box Office

Grant Gustin and James Gunn

Recently, Threads user @matthewchadd1987 noticed that James Gunn had followed The Flash actor Grant Gustin on the social media network, and vice versa. That immediately got hopes up that the Peacemaker director might be looking to replace one Barry Allen with another.

However, James Gunn doesn’t play when it comes to rumors like that. You can see the exchange here:

Rather than James Gunn considering bringing in Grant Gustin as the Flash of his new DC Universe, it seems to be a clear-cut case of two Hollywood figures having mutual admiration. That’s nice and all, but all the Arrowverse fans out there are surely seething.

Too Many Barry Allens

Grant Gustin played Barry Allen, AKA the Flash, for nine seasons of his titular show on the CW Network, with innumerable appearances in shows like Arrow, Supergirl, Legends of Tomorrow, and all the rest.

To many DC fans, Grant Gustin simply is the definitive Barry Allen actor, even among the infinite variations of the Multiverse.

However, Ezra Miller was cast years ago as the Flash of Zack Snyder’s DC Extended Universe, beginning with Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016). Since then, Miller has played the official “prime” version of the character, even crossing over to the CW to encounter the Grant Gustin variant at one point.

Related: DC Continues ‘The Flash’ Without Ezra Miller

James Gunn and ‘The Flash’

A lot of things have changed since Ezra Miller was cast as Barry Allen. In particular, numerous criminal charges and grooming allegations have been leveled against the actor, and their long-delayed starring feature film The Flash flopped so hard at the box office that Warner Bros seems embarrassed to even bring it to a streaming platform.

All of that has prompted fans to speculate that James Gunn might simply switch out the Flash actors and bring in Grant Gustin as the Barry Allen of his DC reboot, but that does not seem to be happening. There is no indication of how or when the Flash will be introduced to the DCU or if it will still be Ezra Miller playing the character, but one thing is certain.

James Gunn like Grant Gustin, but he’s not willing to call him the Flash right now.

Do you want Grant Gustin to play the Flash in the new DCU? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!