Last year, a detailed plot leak for The Flash found its way online. Since then, the movie has been through at least two rounds of reshoots, with the latest overseen by DC Studios.
The Scarlet Speedster's big screen debut will no longer set the stage for a soft DCEU reboot and Crisis on Infinite Earths movie as the DCU is starting from scratch. It's likely going to do something that lays the groundwork for that new era of storytelling, but the validity of that plot leak was confirmed by the newly released trailer and TV spot.
Today, we're revisiting those spoiler-filled story details to share the moments we now know will be in The Flash...as we attempt to figure out those which won't be! That includes a breakdown of the original ending and how it's reportedly changed in recent months.
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7. Return To 2013
In the plot leak, The Flash talks to Batman and suggests he could travel back in time to save his mother, only for Bruce Wayne - after their team-up - to warn that could have dire consequences for the universe.
We see that scene in the trailer, and know he travels back to 2013 where he meets his younger self. This Barry not yet being The Flash and having a mother who is still alive was also confirmed in the Super Bowl sneak peek, and we'd heard this fateful meeting between the two occurs on the day the teenager first receives his superpowers.
Unfortunately for the future Scarlet Speedster, he's arrived in this reality minus his powers, and the first footage from the movie confirms that they do indeed both get hit by that lightning strike. However, only Barry's past self gains his abilities.
6. Batman Returns
Just like in the trailer, Barry and Barry head to Wayne Manor where they find a very different Batman.
An old man with a grey beard and long hair (we spotted Michael Keaton rocking that look in the "Big Game" TV spot), he supposedly turns to the duo and asks, "You want to get nuts?" when they confront him. After he too comes to the conclusion The Flash has broken the universe, the retired Caped Crusader attempts to send the duo packing.
Remember, our first look at The Flash confirmed this is a world without Metahumans, and neither Wonder Woman nor Aquaman is said to exist in this reality. That's a problem given who shoes up next...
5. Invasion
The day Barry Allen becomes The Flash is also the day General Zod invades Earth (possibly explaining why that lightning bolt gave him powers). Michael Shannon was showcased in the trailer, while the TV spot confirmed claims Keaton's Batman has his own "Hall of Armor."
With Batman figuring out multiple timelines are converging on themselves, he also deduces where Superman is likely being kept by the U.S. government.
After breaking in, they find Supergirl, who we saw escape captivity in the trailer before making short work of those who had been keeping the Kryptionan locked in the dark. The plot leak claims Superman died on the way to Earth in this reality, with Kara instead landing on Earth in his place.
4. The Flash Powers Up
Back at Wayne Manor, the heroes deduce that they must stop Zod, but with an old Batman, a half-powered Supergirl, and a Barry Allen who has only just gained his powers, the future Scarlet Speedster needs his abilities back.
Batman comes up with an idea to strap the hero into an electric chair atop Wayne Manor, but the plan fails. However, Supergirl flies him into the sky - which we saw in a blink-and-you'd-miss-it scene in the trailer - and he eventually regains access to the Speed Force.
As for Zod, the plot leak was where we first heard he would make his stand in the desert, though whether claims he murders General Swanwick are accurate remains to be seen.
3. Final Battle
With the World Engine activated far away from Metropolis, casualties are kept to a minimum and our heroes make a stand against the Kryptonian villain.
We've seen that play out, of course, and the plot leak alleges that Keaton's Dark Knight is badly injured. While the future Flash apologises for dragging him into this fight, Bruce is grateful to have been reminded of what it means to be a superhero. With that, he dies, and while there had been plans to undo that, we're guessing it is now how his story ends.
We can't confirm this is the case, but for those of you who are curious, after realising he can't save his mother without breaking reality, The Flash allows her to die and returns to the present where the DCEU is restored to its old self. Or so it seems.
2. The Original Ending
In the present day, Bruce Wayne pulls up in his familiar Mercedes, but it's not Ben Affleck's Caped Crusader who steps out; it's Michael Keaton! Both he and Supergirl are now permanently part of then DCEU, meaning Warner Bros. could have finally rid itself of SnyderVerse actors Ben Affleck and Henry Cavill.
That's where the movie was supposed to end, though Cavill's return in Black Adam led to him being added back into the movie for a brief Speed Force cameo confirming Superman hadn't been wiped from reality (he'd just gain a cousin).
Original plans called for the Man of Steel to vanish and potentially return in a Crisis on Infinite Earths project. A post-credits scene, meanwhile, saw Barry hanging out with Aquaman before receiving a message from the Multiverse. Affleck's Batman is stranded and needs help from the Fastest Man Alive. Guess what? That's also been cut.
1. Now What?
The Flash supposedly has a different ending due to DC Studios' plans to relaunch the DCEU as the DCU, with cameos from Cavill and Gal Gadot at the end of the movie left on the cutting room floor.
Keaton and Sasha Calle's respective returns - seen in set photos - are also no more as there will be no continuation of this story (the former had been eyed to return in Batgirl and Batman Beyond before both were scrapped). Rumour has it a new ending has been shot teasing the possibilities of the Multiverse, including a cameo from a former Batman.
Making The Flash a hero who travels through the Multiverse takes him off the board and allows the DCU to be its own thing. There will be an awful lot of great scenes we now don't get to see, sadly. Alas, a reboot beckons!