‘The Flash’ Had Three Different Endings Considered for the Final Cut

After years of development hell, countless screenplays and directors, and the cinematic universe’s courses changed, ‘The Flash’ movie set in DC Extended Universe has finally hit theaters. Back in 2014, when DCEU was still at its beginning, Warner Bros. and DC revealed the initial slate of DCEU projects, including ‘The Flash,’ which was set to be released in 2018. However, the whole series of unfortunate events took the franchise off of its initial course, and since then, we’ve been getting solo movies, out of which some were great and some not so much. But still, there was never any indication of where this franchise was supposed to lead.

With a new regime at Warner Bros. Discovery and DC Studios, it was decided to pull the plug on DCEU and start anew. James Gunn and Peter Safran were hired as CEOs of DC Studios, and their job was to create a new, better-planned cinematic universe, officially known as DCU. However, some movies were developed by the former regime, and they still needed to be released. That’s why some parts of ‘The Flash’ has to be reshot to fit the movie into the franchise’s current narrative.

Three different last scenes were considered for ‘The Flash’!

Thanks to The Hollywood Reporter’s recent report, we found out that three different endings were filmed during the long production of ‘The Flash.’ The original ending, which was filmed while Toby Emmerich and Walter Hamada were heads of then-DC Films, featured Sasha Calle’s Supergirl and Michael Keaton’s Bruce Wayne in front of the courthouse. That ending would keep those two in the new timeline but would erase Ben Affleck’s Batman and Henry Cavill’s Superman. This ending was supposed to set up Keaton’s return to the ‘Batgirl’ movie, which was ultimately canceled during post-production.

Following the merger of WarnerMedia and Discovery, Emmerich and Hamada left the company, and Michael DeLuca and Pamela Abdy took over. Their plan was to keep Henry Cavill’s Superman. Therefore, a new ending for ‘The Flash’ was filmed, featuring Cavill’s Superman and Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman. Cavill also filmed a post-credit scene for last year’s ‘Black Adam’ as well. This ending of ‘The Flash’ was supposed to be a set-up for ‘Man of Steel 2’ and ‘Wonder Woman 3,’ which were both later canceled.

The following paragraph contains spoilers for ‘The Flash!’

The third ending is the one we watched in the movie’s theatrical cut. This ending was filmed in January 2023, after Cavill officially left the franchise and ‘Wonder Woman 3’ was canceled. This ending also erased Calle’s Supergirl and Keaton’s Batman from the continuity but returned George Clooney to the role of Bruce Wayne after 26 years. We honestly have no idea what this ending is supposed to mean.

We know the upcoming ‘The Brave and the Bold’ movie will introduce a new Batman to DCU, but why would they return Clooney when James Gunn announced that a new actor would play Caped Crusader in the DCU? Andy Mushietti, who directed ‘The Flash,’ has signed to direct ‘The Brave and the Bold,’ so we can only sit and wait to see what plan Gunn and Safran made for the future of DC movies.

Henry Cavill and Ben Affleck are now officially out of the mainstream continuity, while Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman is still unsure about her Wonder Woman. Jason Momoa will reprise the role of Aquaman one more time this December in ‘Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom,’ after which his DC future also remains unsure.

Also, James Gunn announced that the ‘Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow’ movie is currently in development. However, due to the ending of ‘The Flash,’ it’s hard to predict if Sasha Calle will reprise the role or if James Gunn has something else on his mind. To tell you the truth, the future of DCU is now even more confusing after the release of ‘The Flash.’

Written by Christina Hodson and directed by Andy Muschietti, ‘The Flash’ is now playing in theaters.

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