It seems that multiverse movies and cameos go together like Batman and Robin, with fan-favorite actors and the comic book characters they’ve played in the past making surprise appearances from other dimensions to help the titular hero in their quest. And with The Flash finally running into theaters following a decades-long journey to get to the big screen, we have another handful of cameos to add to the collection. But for the overwhelming amount of cameos this film includes, there seems to be one fundamental DC character missing.Related: Sorry 'The Flash,' DC Made the Perfect Legacy Sequel a Long Time Ago
Where in the Multiverse Is Grant Gustin?
With the series finale of The CW series The Flash airing this past May, Grant Gustin completed an impressive nine-year tenure as Barry Allen. The show, beginning back in 2014, had an undeniably phenomenal start with its first two seasons, and although the series has had its ups and downs throughout its nine-season run, one constant remained: Gustin’s strong performance as the Scarlet Speedster. Playing the character for nearly a decade, Gustin has aligned himself with The Flash in the minds of fans the same way Robert Downey Jr. has to Iron Man or Ryan Reynolds to Deadpool. Gustin’s Barry has been through the wringer and is very familiar with screwing up the timeline, having created his own Flashpoint Paradox on the show. He’s also gone toe-to-toe with all of the rogues and speedsters in the book from Reverse Flash and Gorilla Grodd to even himself thanks to a Dark Flash of his own making named Savitar. So all of this begs the question, why wasn’t Gustin included in The Flash movie with Ezra Miller?
Grant Gustin Should Have Been at the Top of the Cameo List
The Flash director Andy Muschietti has spoken about cameos on the cutting room floor, “We had to choose. We had to pick.” And producer Barbara Muschietti added, "The universes start colliding, and we had a lot more characters that we all know that we had to let go because there just wasn't the time." For those who haven’t seen the film or have yet to be spoiled online, notable cameos that remained in the final cut included Christopher Reeve and Helen Slater as the Kryptonian heroes, Nicolas Cage as the Man of Steel, and George Reeves as Superman as well, along with Adam West as the classic ‘66 Batman. The star power grows by the very end of the film, when George Clooney cameos as Bruce Wayne. Now, that's three Supermans and two Batmans (four if we count Michael Keaton and Ben Affleck's more substantial appearances). The only Flash cameo is a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it appearance of Jay Garrick, the Golden Age Flash, with actor Teddy Sears confirming he did not shoot anything for the film, but was computer generated for the scene. It gets even worse when Muschietti revealed the cut cameos from the film which included Lynda Carter’s iconic version of Wonder Woman and Marlon Brando’s Jor-El. Still, no mention of Gustin or any other Flash actor. Considering the number of Flash iterations across both animated and live-action throughout the years that were at the Muschiettis' disposal, it’s shocking that no such tribute was made.
Ezra Miller's Barry Allen Already Met Grant Gustin's
Only adding insult to injury, the two Flashes have shared the screen before. During The CW’s Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover event, Ezra Miller’s Flash briefly wound up in Star Labs, face to face with Gustin’s iteration. Though their time together was short, the scene proved that there was some serious chemistry between the two Barrys as they marveled over each other’s suits, their joint confusion, and the fact that they shared the same identity. Most importantly, it’s all thanks to Gustin that Miller’s Barry got his superhero moniker in the DCEU in the first place. Before the Crisis crossover, Miller’s Barry was not officially referred to as "The Flash" and it was only after hearing The CW Barry call himself by the name that our DCEU Barry got the idea. By that multiverse logic, Miller’s Flash owes an awful lot to Gustin’s, and this film would have been the perfect opportunity for the duo to reunite. Of course, Barry is busy policing and training his younger self throughout the film, but considering how much Crisis was able to accomplish with its minute-long cameo of Miller, any bit of screen time would do.Considering all the experience Gustin’s Flash has accrued over his journey on The CW working with his own version of the Justice League, heroes including Supergirl (Melissa Benoist), Green Arrow (Stephen Amell), and Superman (Tyler Hoechlin), he would likely be able to share some of his own adventures, and more importantly, his failures. A moment where Gustin’s Barry shares how he realized he couldn’t intervene to save his mother – similar to the scene in Spider-Man: No Way Home where Andrew Garfield’s Peter Parker tells Tom Holland’s Peter how he lost his "MJ" through the death of Gwen Stacy – would be riveting without feeling like overkill or fan-service as it would make sense in the context of Barry’s arc and would be a moment to truly bond our two most prominent live-action Flashes.For a film that nails the emotional beats and truly seems to care for the character of Barry Allen, it feels almost incomplete without Gustin’s appearance. Sure, if this wasn’t a multiverse movie his cameo would perhaps feel disingenuous and shoehorned in, but that’s not the case here as the movie was widely advertised as a multiverse event. Considering the two have met before and left the door open to continue their friendship, Gustin’s absence will live on as a major missed opportunity that The Flash will never be able to outrun.
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