The rumor mill is swirling with some new buzz that past superhero actors might be brought back in The Flash. Per TMZ, the latest rumor about the DCEU's high-profile superhero movie is that Superman star Christopher Reeve and Batman star Adam West will be making posthumous appearances in the film. It's best to take the rumors with a grain of salt with no official confirmation at this time, but it does seem plausible, given how Warner Bros. and DC are under a lot of pressure to have their version of the multiverse keep up with the Marvel.
This isn't to say fans should expect to see Reeves' Superman and West's Batman interacting with Ezra Miller's titular superhero. The rumor is that they would only be appearing briefly as The Flash is skipping through different universes. It would make sense given that no less than two different Batman actors are already confirmed to appear in the film, with Michael Keaton's Dark Knight returning alongside Ben Affleck's DCEU version. There have also been rumors of Henry Cavill making a surprise appearance.
TMZ also reports that the cameos wouldn't utilize CGI for these appearances. Rather, archival footage from the Superman movies and Batman series would be utilized instead. If true, that seems like a good way for the filmmakers to get around the expected controversy that bringing back deceased actors with CGI would bring while still serving as a fun way of acknowledging their respective versions of these characters. Meanwhile, Lynda Carter is also rumored to appear as Wonder Woman after previously having a cameo in Wonder Woman: 1984.
Even if there is a plan to potentially include Reeves and West at this time, that can certainly change before The Flash is released in 2023. After yet another release date delay, the film continues to be cut and cut again as the studio fine-tunes the highly-anticipated final cut. It's hard to say what will end up making the final version when it comes to theaters next year.
The Flash Will Definitely Bring Back Michael Keaton
It's not a rumor that Michael Keaton will be appearing in The Flash. This has been confirmed by the filmmakers as well as by Keaton himself, who previously explained why he wanted to come back to the role. It has been about three decades since he last played the Dark Knight in Batman Returns, but in the back of his mind, the veteran actors always felt like he had another good Batman performance in him. Fortunately, The Flash gave him the opportunity.
“After the first Batman, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen an entire [comic book] movie,” Keaton told THR. “I just never got around to it. So you’re talking to a guy who wasn’t in the zeitgeist of that whole world. When I went down to do the Marvel things in Atlanta … It’s an entire city dedicated to Marvel … They’ll be doing Marvel movies forever. I’ll be dead, and they’ll still be doing Marvel movies.”
He added, "Frankly, in the back of my head, I always thought, ‘I bet I could go back and nail that motherf***er.' And so I thought, ‘Well, now that they’re asking me, let me see if I can pull that off.’”