The Flash film from DC will undoubtedly go down in history as a colossal box-office bomb, not just for Warner Bros. but in the entire history of filmmaking. Yet, the narrative might have taken a completely different turn if only Zack Snyder had been granted the artistic liberty to fully realize his vision of the DCEU.
As per a report from Inverse, Jay Oliva, the director of the animated DC film Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox, has disclosed the original plan for the DCEU’s Flash trilogy had it come to fruition. The American producer, formerly a storyboard artist on the canceled Rick Famuyiwa project, shared his insights on the planned trilogy, saying:
Rick’s movie wasn’t the Flashpoint movie. Originally, there was supposed to be just Zack’s five films and one side movie, which ended up being Suicide Squad. Rick’s movie was going to be a series of films, just like Aquaman. I think all of those films, they were planning to be trilogies.
Rick’s movie was laying the groundwork for Zoom as the big baddy of the DC Universe. It was Professor Zoom pulling the strings because he had come from the future to basically f*ck with Barry. In the Flash movies, Zoom would be the villain in the background. But also in the ancillary other films, you would see some of the influences of Zoom on the rest of the Justice League.
Fans of DC Comics or those who have watched The CW’s The Flash series will be familiar with Professor Zoom, otherwise also known by his real name, Professor Eobard Thawne, and his speedster alter-ego, Reverse-Flash. As Barry Allen’s arch-nemesis, Zoom is the first iteration of the many Reverse-Flash incarnations. Unlike other speedsters who usually face serious consequences for meddling with the past, Zoom wields the power to manipulate history and even erase people from existence, thanks to his ability to access the Negative Speed Force.
Zoom’s story would have climaxed in a Flashpoint film, which would have tied up Snyder’s Superman saga that first began with Man of Steel.
At the ending of Zack’s Darkseid quadrilogy, or whatever, we would end up with a Justice League Unlimited version of the Snyder-verse. And then you flip it. You do Flashpoint Paradox. Everybody who’s friends are now enemies, and it’s a world that you don’t want to live in. You can reboot the universe and introduce a new cast that way. Because after 10 years, the actors need to go onto something else.
Had Warner Bros. given the idea the greenlight, it could have paved the way for Jay Oliva’s animated film, Flashpoint Paradox, to be transformed into a live-action adaptation, an outcome he really yearned for.
I wanted to really capture the grimness of the comic, but also lay the groundwork for adapting this as if it was a Marvel live-action film. I just thought that would’ve been fantastic. Can you imagine Jason Momoa fighting Gal Gadot and then having that love story?
All of the missed opportunities. Being a part of it was so exciting, and then having to shift gears and pivot. It’s kind of sad. I would’ve loved to have seen it get to this point.
Indeed, Oliva, we couldn’t agree more. The DCEU had a remarkable start to its cinematic universe, largely attributed to Snyder’s Man of Steel, despite its numerous flaws. Following the catastrophic disappointment of Justice League in 2017, DC fans united through the #ReleaseTheSnyderCut movement on social media, putting pressure on Warner Bros.
Eventually, the studio gave in, and in 2021, Zack Snyder’s Justice League was released. The film, widely regarded as a significant improvement over its predecessor, laid the foundation for Darkseid as the ultimate antagonist of the Justice League, similar to the MCU’s Thanos.
Witnessing Jay Oliva, an undeniable authority on all matters concerning The Flash, taking the reins to storyboard a live-action adaptation of Flashpoint Paradox under the direction of Zack Snyder could have potentially shifted the tide for Warner Bros., granting the studio a much-needed edge over its competitor, Marvel Studios. Sadly, we’ll never know.
