Well, it’s official. As reported all over the place, David Goyer is signed on to write, direct and produce a Flash movie. This isn’t just a rumor like the Jack Black Green Lantern, this was announced in Variety.

Goyer’s got experience with superhero films. He wrote all three Blade movies, and the upcoming Batman Begins. He spent several years co-writing the current JSA comic book, in which the original Flash is a regular.

Variety states that the movie will focus on the original Flash, Jay Garrick, though other sources have stated that Goyer wants to use the current Flash, Wally West…and Blade: Trinity‘s Ryan Reynolds is rumored to be in the *ahem* running.

OK, I’m not going to hold my breath about this. Film projects get sidetracked or abandoned all the time—just look at how long it’s taken the next Superman film to get off the ground. As for whether it’s likely to be good or not, Goyer has a hit and miss record. He co-wrote Dark City, one of my favorite films. (It was the first DVD I ever bought. I didn’t even have a DVD player at the time.) On the other hand, I’ve heard almost nothing good about Blade: Trinity. I assume he hasn’t even started the script, though, so it’s way too early to get into the “This will rock!”/“This will suck!” debates.

Not that I expect the rest of the net to wait…

Update June 2005: I’ve added a page on the movie to Flash: Those Who Ride the Lightning: Flash Feature Film.

38 thoughts on “The Flash on Film

  1. Guess I’m late to this party too! ;D

    A Flash movie would be a dream come true. I even liked the John Wesley Ship series! However, I would hope that they focus on the science fiction side and introduce the Speed Force (in concept parameters, if not in name).
    I would love to see unlimited speed portrayed on the screen. Imagine time travel; imagine Johnny Quick-style multiple images around a room (sort of done in the 80s series); imagine a hero who really could ride the lightning.
    I’d actually like to see Jay Garrick intro’d to show the lineage. It could work like this:
    Opening scene [in style of Sky Captain] 1940s Keystone City. Voiceover of Jay G narrating. Collage of him saving the day (several times). Flash forward (all puns intended) Jay on a retirement tour of Central City 1975. He wistfully says hero days were behind him then and it was time for a new Flash. We then get (without overtly stating it) the Speed Force creating the events that transform Barry Allen into The Flash. Collage of Barry saving the day (as overseen by Jay). Then some disaster kills Barry and Jay G says he was ready to give up the legacy of The Flash but then fate took a hand… enter Wally West!
    Corny? Yep. But let’s for once not be afraid of what makes people read comics going up on screen.
    My 2 Cents.

  2. I’m ready for a good Flash movie using all of todays special effects. He has always been my favorite Superhero.

  3. if there gonna be 2 flash in the movie doesnt that mean that barry is gonna
    die like he did in the comicbooks.
    there gonna be scenes better than dashes and the flash series and fantastic 4.

    flash is my favorite hero.

  4. FLASH is a pimp. If Ryan Reynolds is going to be the next FLASH then I could honestly say that this movie could be the best movie of all time. Ryan Reynolds is halarious.

  5. *****i know him from the television series but that was nearly 10 yearsago. Special effects was exciting . Flash deserves movie more than any of the other characters, cause he proved himself before and people liked what they saw.*********************************************

  6. Without a doubt…I’ve been waiting for the day when someone would be willing to make a superhero movie staring none other than The Flash. As much as everyone is aware of the stories of Superman and Batman (which I like just fine…don’t get me wrong), I think the time has come for the other original superheroes to make the big screen, such as WW, GL and of course The Flash. Like others…The Flash has always been my favorite superhero…and I’ve got a modified Flash symbol tattoo to prove it! Also, being Canadian and having a Canadian actor (Ryan Reynolds – I can not see the part for anyone other than him) play the part, brings that much more feeling (for me at least) to the character and movie as a whole. I’ll be waiting and hoping for this movie to go ahead and be in theaters in the near future. However, on a slightly off note…I am NOT happy about the rumors/news of the cancellation of the on-going monthly Flash comic book…it is the last, one true title that i collect (and have in its entirety so far – Wally West Flash) and I’m upset that it will be coming to an end…I just wish there was SOMETHING that could be done to allow the series to contiune.

    Thank you all for listening.
    Never stop running!

  7. dude the flash is my all time favorite superhero. i have been talking about somebody hopefully making a movie about since i saw the first spider man movie. this article just made my day dude. hey also read that u have a flash tattoo, thats how i stumbled into this article in the first place. ive been trying to get ideas on my next tattoo. and i want it to be a flash tattoo. so if u could me a pic of it so i can get some ideas that would be awesome.

  8. To any Flash fans (patrick and others) who wish to see a picture of my Flash tattoo, please check out my fire/police/ems patch trading site at http://www.geocities.com/fire7270
    Please respect the originality of this tattoo and to NOT reproduce it for yourself. I am posting it for the purpose of generating ideas for others that they may design their own original Flash tattoo. Also, it is to show my “attachment” to The Flash and to my profession as a firefighter (two-tone blue flame).
    You will find the picture on the main (first) page located below the “E-mail me” link. Please let me know what you think of the tattoo design and/or the fact that you have been directed to the page by this letter. Please type Flash Tattoo in the subject column.
    The actual tattoo is located on my back, right shoulder blade and is 2 inches in diameter (red circle). The colors shown are the same for the actual tattoo itself.

    Never stop running!

  9. Would love to see this go on film, finally.

    Love the costume from the defunct TV series then. And he’s funny in his recent animation incarnations.

    After 2007 (Wonder Woman) in maybe we’ll see him run. 🙂

  10. wwwwwooooooooooooooh!!!
    i will lovvvee thaaat movvvvie i wasss waiting for thisss movieeee sinccceeee 1991.

  11. why can’t we suggest that Paul walker( the fast and the Furious) to be “The Flash”. paul has the right build, right height and right features to be the Flash. is that anything possible for usa to reccomend him as the flash????

  12. Paul Walker as the flash would be a little weird, I mean yeah, he’s got the build, but where would the humour be………Not even the best writers in the world could make him, funny.

    But then again the movie is gonna be semi-sci-fi, so that might not matter.

    But personally I’d prefer it if they got someone else.

  13. Wally West hasn’t really ever been funny. He takes his job as the Flash very seriously, he’s very concerned about his legacy. He has his witty moments, but they are few and far between. He can be slightly childish at times, but that’s because he’s also living his dream. The fanboy that got his greatest wish, to be like his hero, The Flash. That’s who Wally is. So no matter whether you choose Ryan Reynolds or Paul Walker, he has to embody those qualities to be Wally West/Flash.

  14. Depends on which version of Wally you’re looking at. The Wally West who appeared in Justice League Europe was certainly played for laughs, and the Wally West from the Justice League cartoon owes quite a bit to that version of the character.

    There’s no reason a movie couldn’t pull elements from different versions of the character, much like the TV show combined aspects of Barry Allen and Wally West, or the JLU episode, “Flash and Substance,” showed both sides of Wally and gave him Barry’s civilian career.

  15. I am a 55 year old “Flash Fanatic”.

    I have Every comic that was ever made with .. “Barry Allen”.

    I know who Jay Garrick is and I am also familiar with the Wally West flash (sidekick) version.

    The TV version, (in my opinion) was a complete disaster.

    The food eating incidents were horrible!

    Yes, I understand that there is presidence for it BUT, I never saw it in the Barry Allen comics.

    As an “Old Man” I just have to say that the “Barry Allen” version of THE FLASH “IS” “The Flash”!

    BTW: It was Barry Allen who invented the “Multiple Personna” illusion when he put on an exhibition for a childrens charity by being … “Two” baseball teams, playing against each other!

    I have to go look but wasn’t that in or around a 1965 issue?

    Oh yeah, about the Superman – Flash speed thingy (who is faster). I had the original copy of The Race, where Superman and Flash ran a foot-race around the world .. Even Then, as a kid, I thought it Terrible!

    Why? I have an issue of The Flash where Barry Allen wanted see just how fast he could move and it showed him building up speed .. Faster and Faster running … Around The world! He was just a “blur”. 100,000,000 times a second is what I seem to remember and Even That wasn’t his top speed! Barry gave up because there seemed to be no limit.

    Here “and now” are my issues with the Superman-Flash foot race comics. (Boy did they ever draw that series out .. on and on and on.)

    #1) Running at that speed, (as the description that I gave above) .. There is No Way that the Flash wouldn’t have Launched himself off into space! NO WAY!

    #2) That Horrible drawn out comic series of The Race between Sup and The Flash … Was a Joke!

    In the comics they had reporters .. reporting on their location and who seemed to be ahead at the moment! (Well they just passed Italy and are now in Russia etc. etc.)

    Give me a BREAK!

    I don’t have to point out to any of you .. WHY those issues of a foot-race disappointed us kids!?

    MC

  16. I don’t quite understand what the hoopla is all about. The Flash people in New Zealand and Australia has already started the THE FLASH with a new face actor name Leif Lundgren. Ryan could just stick to his Trinity movies because The Flash the fastest man on earth is now being secretly film in Wellington, New Zealand and Sydney Australia. Leaf is young very sexy good looking Swedish Canadian Guy who was born in Upsalla, Sverige moved to Les Isles de la Madeleine. Go see him at Thierry Mugler et Cie “Angel for Men” He is the finest candidate for this movie Flash and just check his Thierry Mugler Blue Oufit he young 22 years old, very goodlooking and he can jump from one building to another gracefully. See the Thierry Mugler video and there you go the New Flash is Leif.

  17. i might be mistaken but i remember watching a film of the flash with my older cousin when i was a kid if anyone has any ideas or info about this i be glad to hear them

  18. i dunno, they dont ring a bell….im sure it was a film of the flash….i was quite young like 8 or so… i’ve got memories of the red suit, an flash symbol….an sumfin to do with needing to keep his sugar levels up like diabetes….it definately not a tv series i remember it bein a dark film…maybe im wrong but i think theres sumfin to the memories…..or there a complete fabrication of my own mind tryin to mess me up…i hope not

  19. That does sound like the the TV show. Some episodes were quite dark, and he did have to eat a lot after using his speed.

    The following “movies” were repackaged episodes of the show:

    The Flash: A biker gang terrorizes Central City and kills Barry’s brother. Barry gets struck by lightning, gains super-speed, and becomes the Flash to avenge his brother.

    Flash II: Revenge of the Trickster: (1) The Trickster stalks Barry’s girlfriend, and decides he has to defeat the Flash to get her. (2) A fan of the Trickster breaks him out during his trial. They capture the Flash, brainwash him, and put Central City on trial.

    Flash III: Deadly Nightshade: (1) A supervillain from the 1950s returns, and Central City’s former protector, the Nightshade, comes out of retirement. The Ghost begins taking over Central City’s computer grid, and the Flash and Nightshade team up to stop him. (2) A new Nightshade appears, killing criminals instead of simply catching them. The original Nightshade has to clear his name, and the Flash has to stop the impostor.

    These would have been released in the early 1990s (the original episodes ran from 1990-1991). Does anything here sound familiar?

  20. This should be directed to David Goyer who is going to write the screenplay for the upcoming “The Flash” movie for Warner Brothers.

    My thoughts about the Flash movie goes this way. Start the movie with a teaser scene like they do at the beginning of the James Bond movies. It would last 2 to 3 minutes and then start the movie at the advent of the Flash story. The teaser scene idea i had was the recent tsunumi’s
    in Shri Lanka and Thailand. As they are approaching the mainland you see a scarlet red blur from a topographic view and the camera pans slowly downwords to reveal that something is harnessing the tsunmi’s wrath and diminishing it’s power. as the whirlwinds slow down you can fainlty see the Flash destoying the might of the storm as people cheer from the shores of the beaches. They quite can’t figure out how the disaster was averted but are grateful that their lives were spared. Then the Flash races to a nearby island to rest and you finally see the Flash standing on the beach as he smiles for another job well done and the camera fades out to the opening credits.

    I have additional ideas if they are worthy of merit.

  21. I Love the Flash and I cant wait untill the movie comes out, but I dont want Shawn Levy to do it…We have to bring David Goyer back!!!! We should try and start a petition or do something If we dont want the Flash to be another Daredevil/Elektra type of movie!!!! If you want the Flash to be a good movie, that will be dark, and serious not some crappy lovey dovey superhero lighter superhero movie than you will agree with me…We must do something…Bring David Goyer BACK!!!!!

  22. i’m more familiar with wally west, so i’d have to say the story should play out as him being the main char. i think they should’nt bring in any of the previous “Flashes” because u could risk confusing some of the non-Flash-fans out there. they should keep the story straight forward, like the batman, superman and spider man series, comedy is a must for wally west. it should also be more of a comming of age type of movie kinda how they scripted spiderman, the first one….. and idea for future films i think they should include all of the super heros into a series of films (i think about 4 films would be great), The title of course would be JLA aka justice League of America, i would most definitely wet myself!!

  23. Ryan Reynolds is pretty much perfect for this role he (( basically has the perfect body type)) if the do make this movie i bet he will just make it one hundred percent better!

  24. The flash is my favorite……It will not be easy making this But……If you guys can pull this off it will be one of the best films ever made. If not it will sink the image of the Flash, but being optimistic with todays’ special effects it will be worth the wait. Besides every year there are those Flash costumes for Halloween ….RIDE THE LIGHTNING!!!!!!

  25. It took 18½ years and scrapping multiple directors, screenwriters, scripts and stories, a new comic story to adapt, and 9 years of a TV show (unrelated except for a cameo), but a Flash movie actually hit the theaters this summer.

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