Major spoilers for The Flash follow…
The Flash was a film that took years to make and years to release, and the crew even worked on this to the very last minute.
The Hollywood Reporter recently reported on the George Clooney cameo that was shot six months ago and has become a significant talking point for the project.
For those who don’t know, in the film’s final scene of the film Barry Allen (Ezra Miller) is on the phone with Bruce Wayne. Just as Barry thinks he’s fixed everything, Wayne pulls up to the courthouse in his car, and as he gets out. This is where we see that Bruce Wayne/Batman is played by Clooney, not the Ben Affleck version Barry expected.
In the article, THR reports that this was the “third ending crafted for the film, which director Andy Muschietti made through three separate regimes at Warners.” It began under Toby Emmerich and DC Films boss Walter Hamada until they were ousted in 2022. Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav was introduced into the picture, and Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy were installed as Warner Bros. Pictures Group chairpersons and CEOs. Both wanted to keep specific things like Keaton’s ending instead of Clooney and a Batfleck post-credit scene.
Then enters James Gunn and producer Peter Safran, who dramatically shifted the project. The pair wanted to erase any attachments to the old DCU and removed ending cameos from Henry Cavill, Gal Gadot, and Ben Affleck. Since they wanted to do an “anything can happen motif,” this is where the wacky Clooney scene comes into play.
Per THR, “the duo reached out to Clooney’s agent at CAA, Bryan Lourd, showing him a cut of the mostly finished film. He liked it and then showed it to Clooney. Clooney liked it and agreed to be a part of it.” Not soon after, George Clooney arrived on set to shoot his scene with Ezra. The trade even notes the pair “spent some time together in between takes with the veteran actor talking with the younger actor.”
Many have noted the oddity of these different endings but note that none of it came with bad intentions. “It’s rare that you have a movie in post-production that faces three separate regimes with three separate agendas,” one insider tells THR. “None of them were scrapped because of ill will, just different visions.”
You can see the George Clooney ending and all of the wild moments from The Flash as it is playing in cinemas worldwide now.
Worlds collide in “The Flash” when Barry uses his superpowers to travel back in time in order to change the events of the past. But when his attempt to save his family inadvertently alters the future, Barry becomes trapped in a reality in which General Zod has returned, threatening annihilation, and there are no Super Heroes to turn to. That is, unless Barry can coax a very different Batman out of retirement and rescue an imprisoned Kryptonian… albeit not the one he’s looking for. Ultimately, to save the world that he is in and return to the future that he knows, Barry’s only hope is to race for his life. But will making the ultimate sacrifice be enough to reset the universe?
The Flash is directed by Andy Muschietti (It) and stars Ezra Miller as Barry Allen/The Flash alongside Kiersey Clemons (Iris West), Ben Affleck (Batman), Michael Keaton (Batman), Sasha Calle (Supergirl), Michael Shannon (General Zod), Antje Traue (Faora-Ul), Kiersey Clemons (Iris West), Ron Livingston (Henry Allen), and Maribel Verdu (Nora Allen).
