The Flash plot leak may reveal plans to make the "Snyder Cut" canon
There's a way for the Snyder Cut to exist in the DCEU that doesn't involve time travel.
After endless delays, The Flash standalone movie was finally gearing up to begin production. It even had an official release date, with director Andy Muschietti planning to adapt the Flashpoint comic storyline for the big screen. Then the movie hit another snag, with the coronavirus pandemic throwing the entire DC movie calendar into chaos and The Flash star Ezra Miller seemingly caught on camera assaulting a woman.
We still don't know what all of this means for The Flash, but one recent DC Extended Universe leak claims to reveal what Warner had planned for the Scarlet Speedster and the rest of the Justice League. There's a lot to unpack in an admittedly sketchy rumor, but one detail stands out: The Flash could have paved the way for the infamous Snyder Cut to existing in DCEU canon.
Fans have speculated that the Flashpoint arc, which sees Barry Allen time traveling to prevent his mother's death, could be used to create an alternate timeline and reset the DCEU, erasing Batman, Superman, and the Justice League movie altogether. This leak seems to confirm it, while adding yet another interesting wrinkle.
With the forthcoming release of Matt Reeves’ The Batman, it's not clear whether Robert Pattinson’s iteration of the Caped Crusader will effectively erase Ben Affleck’s portrayal and Zack Snyder’s world-building in Batman v Superman and Justice League. DC’s Chief Creative Officer Jim Lee previously mentioned The Batman when discussing the DCEU, leaving many confused about how these two very different versions of Batman will relate to one another.
The Snyder Cut is still a big mystery.
An alleged leak from FandomWire claims that after Flashpoint, the DCEU will be forever altered, meaning that Man of Steel, Batman v Superman and Justice League “will be gone.” That would presumably leave Pattinson as the primary Batman in a world that still includes Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman and Jason Mamoa's Aquaman.
Naturally, this leak should be treated with suspicion. The idea that Warner Bros. would simply erase these films from the DCEU continuity — even if it is haphazardly mapped out — is hard to believe. The uproar from Zack Snyder fans alone is probably enough to stop the studio from even attempted a reset.
However, if this leak is true, there is a way it could work in favor of the fabled Snyder Cut. FandomWire also revealed that The Flash would include two popular villains: Reverse-Flash and Mirror Master. In the comics, Mirror Master can create and control portals into the Mirror World, a fourth-dimensional replica of Earth that can be entered by way of the villain’s reflective powers.
Mirror Master and the Snyder Cut? Maybe.
With that in mind, Mirror Master could actually create a mirror universe where Snyder Cut is canon instead of the Justice League movie we actually got. The gist is that the mirror-verse would carry on with the original timeline regardless of what’s happening on Earth. It’s not an exact science and it’s doubtful that this Flash supervillain will even be in the movie for any long period of time, but it’s a fun way to think about a new universe inside an already established one like the DCEU with one notable difference.
In terms of whether The Flash’s time travel shenanigans will actually reboot the shared universe, it’s something that admittedly falls in line with a previous Snyder idea. Yes, really.
During a commentary-fueled viewing of Batman v Superman, Snyder revealed a potentially twisted time travel plot for The Flash that essentially rendered the Justice League timeline (and the Knightmare sequence) moot. This idea would have paved the way for an alternate timeline that the Justice League would have had to undo in Justice League 2.
So, in a roundabout way, The Flash storyline keeps the Snyder Cut dream alive, and probably that’s as much as any fan can ask for at this point.
The Flash is currently scheduled to hit theaters on July 1, 2022.
