Variety is reporting that acclaimed actor Billy Crudup (Almost Famous, Spotlight, Mission: Impossible III) is set to play the father of Ezra Miller’s Barry Allen in Warner Bros. Pictures and DC Films’ The Flash movie. This will mark Crudup’s second time working with Miller after 2015’s The Stanford Prison Experiment, as well as a return to the DC Universe after portraying Doctor Manhattan in 2009’s Watchmen. The cast also includes Kiersey Clemons as Iris West and Ray Fisher’s Cyborg. Dope director Rick Famuyiwa is helming the DC Comics adaptation.
In both the comics and CW TV series, Barry Allen’s dad is Dr. Henry Allen, and his arc in both includes a villain traveling back in time and framing him for the murder of his wife Nora. He is portrayed by John Wesley Shipp — who portrayed The Flash on TV in the ’90s — in the current TV series.
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Ezra Miller’s version of the Flash has already appeared on the big screen in both Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and the recent Suicide Squad. Both Flash and Cyborg are also part of Zack Snyder’s upcoming Justice League cast. We’ll get to see both heroes in action alongside fellow Justice Leaguers Batman (Ben Affleck), Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot), Aquaman (Jason Momoa) and Superman (Henry Cavill) when the film hits the big screen November 17, 2017.
Cyborg made his first appearance in 1980’s “DC Comics Presents” #26. In the “New 52” continuity, he’s a high school athlete who, after getting caught in a S.T.A.R. Labs explosion, is given powerful bionic abilities that lead to him becoming a founding member of the Justice League.
The Flash boasts an original treatment by The LEGO Movie directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller. It is currently without an official release date, although production is planned to start this year with a 2018 release date likely.
Crudup will next be seen in Ridley Scott’s blockbuster sequel/prequel Alien: Covenant, and also has a part in current Toronto Film Festival selection Jackie opposite Natalie Portman.
What do you think of Billy Crudup rejoining the DC Universe in The Flash? What other characters would you like to see appear? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
(Photo Credit: WENN.com)
