#The Flash Movie Loses Billy Crudup as Barry’s Dad, But Gets Maribel Verdu as His Mom

The Flash has suffered something of a casting shake up, with actor Billy Crudup, who was set to reprise the role of Barry Allen’s father Henry, departing the project, with Spanish actress Maribel Verdú now on board to play Barry Allen’s mother, Nora. Crudup appeared uncredited in the theatrical cut of Justice League as Henry Allen, where he was seen in prison, but sadly the actor has had to bow out of The Flash due to scheduling conflicts. The role will reportedly be recast.

As for Barry’s mother, Maribel Verdú is best known for roles in the likes of the Spanish drama Y Tu Mamá También alongside Diego Luna and Gael García Bernal, and director Guillermo del Toro’s 2006 masterpiece Pan’s Labyrinth. Her role in The Flash is likely to be integral to the plot, with the movie reportedly taking inspiration from the comic book arc The Flashpoint Paradox, which sees the Fastest Man Alive travel back in time in an attempt to save his mother, who was murdered during Barry Allen’s childhood.
RELATED: Kiersey Clemons Will Return as Iris West in DC’s The Flash Movie
As is so often the case with these time travel misadventures, Barry’s meddling finds him emerging in a much bleaker alternate universe in which the Amazons and Atlanteans are involved in an all-out war that has left the planet destroyed. This alternate version of the DC universe finds Bruce Wayne dead, killed at the hands of the same criminal who murders his parents in the original timeline, which leads to Thomas Wayne taking up the mantle of Batman, and applying his own, more violent tactics.

While The Flash is unlikely to follow the source material exactly, it looks like the movie will take various elements, remixing them where appropriate. Intriguingly, both Michael Keaton and Ben Affleck will reprise the roles of their respective iterations of DC favourite, Batman, with fans left to wonder how the two very different versions of the Dark Knight will factor into proceedings.

Not much is yet known about how Keaton will feature in the movie, but director Andy Muschietti has described Affleck’s role in the story as “a very substantial part of the emotional impact of the movie. The interaction and relationship between Barry and Affleck’s Wayne will bring an emotional level that we haven’t seen before. It’s Barry’s movie, it’s Barry’s story, but their characters are more related than we think. They both lost their mothers to murder, and that’s one of the emotional vessels of the movie. That’s where the Affleck Batman kicks in.”

Ezra Miller will reprise the title role alongside Affleck and Keaton, with Kiersey Clemons recently confirmed to be returning as Iris West. The Young and the Restless star Sasha Calle has also signed on to play Supergirl.

After what seems like an eternity of back and forth, with so many director dropouts and stalls that you’d need to be as fast as The Scarlet Speedster to keep up, The Flash is finally, really, actually happening, with producer Barbara Muschietti confirming in February that production had now begun. The Flash is scheduled to hit screens on November 4th, 2022. This comes to us courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter.

Topics: Flashpoint, Flash