After an unbelievably rocky road to its release, Warner Bros. finally unveiled the first full-length The Flash trailer during the Super Bowl commercials. The film stars Ezra Miller, who has “begun ongoing treatment” after a series of violent incidents, after making their debut as the DC character in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice in 2016.
Barry Allen (Miller), aka The Flash, is trying to revive his mother in another universe in the new trailer, fighting to keep her alive to bring her back to the universe in which he currently resides. And in the process, Barry continues to run into a different version of himself, confused at why there’s another Flash racing around in different timelines.
“Time has a pattern that it can’t help reliving,” Barry narrates. “Different people, different worlds, drawn to each other like magnets.”
But as Barry tries to save his mom, he ends up destroying the entire universe—and even rids the world of superhumans (including Ben Affleck’s Batman, who appears in this trailer). If The Flash and Batman can’t save the day, there may be no way to salvage the entire universe.
At least there is one Batman still available to help out: Michael Keaton’s take on the superhero, making his first appearance since Batman Returns in 1992. A glimpse at Keaton’s iconic version of the caped crusader is the trailer’s biggest reveal by far—something that shocks even the two Barrys, who can’t believe who they’re seeing. (Barry from the alternate, superhuman-less timeline even drops and breaks his mug.)
Keaton will join the team to help fix the world, a piece of fan service for those who loved the Tim Burton Batman flicks. Also fan service-y: the first appearance of Supergirl in this DC Universe. Played by Sasha Calle, Superman’s cousin appears to be held prisoner, until the trio of Batman and the Flashes ropes her in to help them out.
Though new DC exec James Gunn has said The Flash is “quite possibly the best DC movie ever made,” there’s a bit of a dark cloud looming over the film. Miller has made headlines in the past few months for violent outbursts, including an “abusive” relationship with 18-year-old Tokata Iron Eyes, who was granted an order of protection against the actor.
Miller’s controversies began in 2020, when the actor strangled a woman and threw her to the ground in Iceland. Then, they were arrested twice in Hawaii in 2022 for disorderly conduct, in which they threw various items at bar patrons.
These various controversies led DC to rethink the release strategy for The Flash. In the past few months, DC has been working to salvage The Flash (a $200 million production) and Miller’s public reputation, while fans instead call for the role to be recast (like with Grant Gustin, for example, who played the same role in The CW’s series of the same name). But instead of cutting ties with Miller, the franchise worked with them to save their image.
“Having recently gone through a time of intense crisis, I now understand that I am suffering complex mental health issues and have begun ongoing treatment,” Miller said in a statement to The Daily Beast in August 2021. “I want to apologize to everyone that I have alarmed and upset with my past behavior. I am committed to doing the necessary work to get back to a healthy, safe and productive stage in my life.”
The Flash premieres in theaters on June 16.
