The Flash
Warning : major spoilers for The Flash .
The Flashshowed dissimilar part of the DC multiverse during its final act , but it ignored one of the most pop and successful Batman variation : Christopher Nolan’sDark Knighttrilogy . After the failure of the DCEU , the DC Multiverse is locomote through a restructuring to make way for the DC Universe , and helping in this modulation is Andy Muschietti’sThe Flash . Although it ’s still part of the DCEU , Barry Allen ’s ( Ezra Miller ) gamble inThe Flashwill be key in the modulation into the DC Universe and in understanding how the Modern DC multiverse works .
The Flashreunited the audience with Barry Allen , who find oneself out that he could habituate his powers to go back in time . Barry decide to use them to travel to the past and lay aside his ma , and while he deliver the goods , rather of returning to his timeline he landed in one where metahumans did n’t exist , Superman never arrived at Earth , and Bruce Wayne looked very unlike . Barry ’s powers also allowed him ( and thus the consultation ) to get a glimpse at the multiverse , withcameos of past adaptation of Batman and Superman , let in one version of the man of brand that never came to be . However , there was one notable absence seizure inThe Flash ’s multiverse end : Nolan ’s version of Batman .
interrelate : Every The Flash Movie Cameo That ’s Been Cut Or Rejected
The Flash Featured Almost Every Batman Movie Era
The glimpse into the multiverse inThe Flashwere overpowering for both Barry Allen and the audience , as most of them happened very tight and were mostly CGI versions , with the characters having no lines . The main story ofThe Flashfeatured two versions of Batman : Ben Affleck ’s from the DCEU and Michael Keaton ’s from Tim Burton’sBatmanandBatman Returns . Affleck ’s Batman acted as the voice of reason for Barry Allen during the first act ofThe Flash , warning him about the consequences of using his top executive to time traveling and calling him for assistant to spare the city one more time .
Michael Keaton , on the other hand , served as a sort of mentor for both Barry and his 2013 version . Keaton’sBruce Wayne explained the multiverseto both Barrys and come out of retirement to help them deliver Kara Zor - El , give Barry his power back , and confront Zod and his people . During the third act of the moving-picture show , Barry control the multiverse starting to collapse on itself , revealing other timelines and thus the discrepancy of DC ’s biggest heroes : Batman and Superman . The Flashfeatured cameos by Adam West , the first bighearted - projection screen version of Batman , as well as a surprisal cameo right at the end by George Clooney , who played the Caped Crusader in Joel Schumacher’sBatman & Robin .
However , The Flashdidn’t include all swelled - screen versions of Batman . The most late version of the Caped Crusader is that of Robert Pattinson in Matt Reeves’The Batman , which lives in a universe separate from the DCEU , though in possibility , it should be part of the multiverse . Val Kilmer ’s reading from Schumacher’sBatman Foreverdidn’t show up either , which seems strange afterThe Flashestablished a interval between Keaton , Kilmer , and Clooney ’s versions . The biggest absentee was Christian Bale ’s Batman from Christopher Nolan’sDark Knighttrilogy , who did n’t show up at all nor were there reference to his world , even though he ’s one of the best version of Batman to date .
link up : The Flash Ending explicate : The Complex DCU Timeline & That Multiverse Cameo Broken Down
Why Nolan’s The Dark Knight Is Missing From The Flash
The Flashfeatured the most notable versions of Superman during its multiverse scene , including one that almost take place but never did ( Nicolas Cage ’s Superman ) , but when it come to its Batman multiverse , it missed its most successful version . While it was unusual to not see even a brief look at Bale ’s translation of Batman , it realise sense that Nolan ’s universe was n’t recognise inThe Flash . Nolan’sDark Knighttrilogy digest out for its darker and more realistic pure tone , especially when compared to the campy versions in Schumacher ’s Batman movies and the dark but still comical Holy Writ - atomic number 39 style of Burton’sBatmanandBatman Returns . Nolan ’s interpretation of the Dark Knight , then , would n’t have fit the tone ofThe Flashat all , and his cameo would have sense off .
Another key reason why Nolan ’s Dark Knight was not included inThe Flash ’s multiverse is due to the arithmetic mean that it would have make . By having Barry land on a different timeline powerful at the remainder with another Bruce Wayne , The Flasheffectively wait on as the final appearance of Ben Affleck ’s Batman , and with Keaton ’s Batman dying in the net conflict , there wo n’t be give-and-take of a futurity for them . The return of Clooney ’s Batman progress to up for the mess ofBatman & Robin , but it ’s unlikely it will touch off interest in his issue , but the same ca n’t be say about Bale ’s version .
The appearance of Bale ’s Batman inThe Flash , even if abbreviated , would have laid expectations for a fourthDark Knightmovie that the studio most belike wo n’t commit to . Nolan ’s Dark Knight trilogy dedicate a proper ending to Bale ’s Bruce Wayne / Batman by having him talk through one’s hat his death and have a normal spirit with Selina Kyle far , far aside from Gotham City , but it also localize Robin up by having Bruce leaving a package for John Blake that led him to the Batcave . The Dark Knight 4won’t happen , and appearing inThe Flashwould have created false hope for it and for Bale ’s return as Batman at some point in the current DC multiverse .
Related : What If Bale & Nolan Had Made A 4th Batman Movie ?
Even The Flash Knew Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy Was Untouchable
As exciting as it would have been to see Bale ’s Batman or consultation to Nolan’sDark Knighttrilogy inThe Flash , the yield team made a heady decision to not include them . Not only would making theDark Knighttrilogy part ofThe Flash ’s multiverse have create expectations that wo n’t be fulfilled , but messing with something as good as Nolan ’s version of Batman ’s population would have brought a lot of trouble for Warner .
The calibre , step , and stories of Nolan’sDark Knighttrilogy made it the best adaptation of Batman , Gotham City , and its citizen in the history of the Caped Crusader , making it untouchable . The team behindThe Flashsurely had this in mind and eff well that messing with theDark Knighttrilogy was move to spark egress that the studio would n’t be able to deal with , and ultimately , it would n’t have been worth it just for the sake of nostalgia . In the end , The Flashdid well in go out Christopher Nolan’sDark Knighttrilogy and Christian Bale ’s Batman out of its multiverse , and there ’s no pauperism for them to merge at any point .
