Sci-Fi Storm

DC finally appears to be gearing up to go head to head with Marvel. According to the returning Nikke Finke, DC has set a release plan that explains the delay of Batman vs. Superman – to better launch the upcoming Justice League, DC’s answer to The Avengers. It also includes a few new items, such as Shazam (a.k.a. Captain Marvel), the long-gestating Wonder Woman, and a Flash/Green Lantern crossover that reportedly will NOT feature Ryan Reynolds (honestly, I think it gets a bad rap…I enjoyed it) and not sure how it will deal with the upcoming WB series.

The reported schedule is:

May 2016 – Batman vs. Superman
July 2016 – Shazam
Xmas 2016 – Sandman
May 2017 – Justice League
July 2017 – Wonder Woman
Xmas 2017 – Flash and Green Lantern team-up
May 2018 – Man Of Steel 2

In addition, Justice League will feature cameos that will launch further standalone movies, but those are still being negotiated with potential stars.

Hot on the heals of yesterday’s teaser, here’s an extended trailer for the CW’s upcoming series The Flash, which starts in the Fall…

In case you needed a reminder, this teaser will give it to you…if you’ve been watching Arrow, you’ve already seen the Flash – well, pre-superhero – in the form of Barry Allen, who appeared in two episodes earlier this season for being irradiated in some form, but we’ve heard little from him since – but we knew he was going to show up in his own series.

Here’s our first look at the young and speedy Barry…

The CW has released the first full-body picture of star Grant Gustin decked out as his superhero alter ego for the upcoming spin-off pilot The Flash.

Filming will presumably start soon on the pilot, a spin-off of The CW’s Arrow, soon. Originally this was envisioned as a back-door pilot directly from an episode of Arrow at the end of the current season, but it was decided that the origin story deserved its own pilot and was separated. Gustin appeared in a couple episodes of Arrow already as Barry Allen, and was injured/irradiated in an explosion in that show.

The Flash will also star Jesse L. Martin (Law & Order) and Tom Cavanagh (Ed) as well as 1990’s The Flash star John Wesley Shipp in an unknown role.

John Wesley Shipp, who played Barry Allen, a.k.a. The Flash in the one-season 1990-1991 TV series on CBS, has signed on for a part in The CW’s remake, which is rapidly adding cast. Who he is playing, however, is being kept very secret at the moment…

Actor Tom Cavanagh (Ed, Yogi Bear) will join the pilot of The CW’s Arrow spinoff, The Flash.

Cavanagh will play Harrison Wells, a “rock star” of the physics world and the brains and money behind S.T.A.R. Labs Particle Accelerator – the one that explodes and turns Barry Allen (Grant Gustin) into The Flash. After becoming a pariah in the scientific community due to the accident, he tries to regain his stature after discovering the side effect.

Joining Grant Gustin and Jesse L. Martin for the CW’s pilot The Flash are Candice Patton (The Game) and newcomer Carlos Valdes.

Patton will play Iris, Barry Allen’s best friend and the daughter of Allen’s mentor/father figure Detective West (Martin). Valdes, who is currently appearing on Broadway, will play Cisco Ramon, the youngest member of the STAR Labs team.

Now that Barry Allen has been left in a coma after being splashed with chemicals and radiation in an explosion on Arrow, it’s time to start thinking about the upcoming pilot for spin-off series The Flash. While originally there were to be three episodes featuring the character, played by Grant Gustin, with the third occurring at the end of the season and to be a backdoor pilot (a pilot filmed as an episode of another series or a standalone movie, that the network may pick up as a series later), it was decided instead to give the show a standalone pilot instead (it is unknown if Allen will appear again this season on Arrow.) This will allow the introductory episode to lead directly in to a series rather than have a delay between the introduction and the start of the series.

So, now you need to come up with a new cast to work with Gustin…first in line is Jesse L. Martin, who played Detective Ed Green on Law & Order for many years. And he will have a familiar role as well – playing a detective. Martin’s character is Detective West, described as an “honest, blue collar cop” who will be a father figure to the young Allen.

The CW has had a change of plans for the debut of The Flash. Originally it was planned that the character of Barry Allen would appear in episodes 8 and 9 of Arrow to introduce the character, but then in episode 20 he would become The Flash, serving as a backdoor pilot to spin off into another series.

Now the plan (per Deadline) is to leave him in episodes 8 and 9, but will now be given a traditional pilot with which, they hope, to kick off the series.

The CW has chosen their next comic book superhero.

Grant Gustin, who played Sebastian Smythe on Fox’s Glee as well as Campbell Price on the CW’s 90210, will play Barry Allen – a.k.a. The Flash – in three episodes of the network’s Arrow series this coming season, with the plan to then spin it off into his own series. He will appear in episodes 8, 9 and 20 this season as part of the plan to present his origin story.

In this version of the story, Allen is a forensic investigator from Central City who comes to Starling City investigating some unexplained robberies that may be linked to his past. He will be presented as an ordinary person to start, a comic “fanboy” obsessed with The Arrow, unaware that he’s stepped right into the vigilante’s world…