Those Were Sure Some Weird Cameos In ‘The Flash’

A few days late, I finally watched The Flash, a movie that is reviewing okay among critics and fans, but hugely stumbling at the box office, somehow coming in below Black Adam’s opening weekend, which can’t be considered anything but a disaster.

While I thought it was a lot of fun, I do have an issue with some of the film’s many, many cameos, specifically a compilation we saw at the end.

To get into this at all, we’re going to have to get deep into spoiler territory, so steer away if you haven’t seen it yet. But if you clicked on this article in the first place, you may not care.

Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman – This one was fine, even if it appears that Gal Gadot may be done as Wonder Woman with her last film cancelled. This could theoretically be the last time we see her. We know an Amazonian film is coming in James Gunn’s DCU, but it should take place before Diana’s time.

Michael Keaton’s Batman – This one isn’t really a cameo, given how integral Keaton’s Bruce was to the story. It’s a little weird because this is not actually Tim Burton’s deeply weird Gotham, but some alternate universe where Keaton is Batman, but it’s a totally different world. But sure, this was fun.

The problems:

George Reeves’ Superman, Christopher Reeve’s Superman, Helen Slater’s Supergirl, Adam West’s Batman – This is where things get pretty weird. Three of these actors are dead, George Reeves, Christopher Reeve and Adam West. And at the very least, Christopher Reeve was recreated digitally specifically for the film, which has some people feeling a bit icky about his use, even if it was meant to be a tribute.

I find it odd they used mostly dead actors for this bit. It feels like this would have easily been a time to include the loads of living actors who have been in DC movies or shows over the years. Grant Gustin played The Flash for eight years on the CW and wasn’t there. John Wesley Shipp was the original Flash who also returned in the CW show. Tom Welling was Clark Kent for a decade of Smallville. Tyler Hoechlin plays Superman now in Superman and Lois. Melissa Benoist was the most recent Supergirl before Sasha Calle in the film. Brandon Routh was Superman in the under-appreciated Superman Returns. Henry Cavill should have cameoed in this movie, not Black Adam. The thing all these actors have in common? They are alive, do not need to be recreated in CG, and people the younger-skewing audience would likely recognize. Yet, none of them appear.

Nicholas Cage’s Superman – This one was actually kind of fun, minus the bad CGI on his face, as I guess he couldn’t do an actual cameo for some reason. This goes back to the aborted Superman project written by Kevin Smith where Cage got as far as doing costume tests to play him, and was supposed to fight a giant spider for some reason. But I’m guessing only the hardest core DC superfans had any idea what was going on here.

George Clooney’s Bruce Wayne – This one was funny, solid way to end. Needed to be consequences for Barry changing something.

Jason Momoa’s Aquaman – I suppose he need to show up at some point, even in the post-credits scene, given that Aquaman is apparently about to be the last DCEU movie, though James Gunn has indicated that it’s possible actors like Momoa and Miller may reprise their roles as Aquaman and Flash respectively somehow later.

I don’t know man, pretty weird overall. Some were fun, some were a little gross. And so many more relevant, not-dead people were missing.

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