Potential spoilers follow for The Flash movie.
Well, consider us bowled over, Warner Bros. The final trailer for The Flash, the next DC Extended Universe (DCEU) movie, and the film that's due to reset the DC's entire cinematic universe, has dropped. And, based on the latest footage – which debuted at CinemaCon 2023 before being released online – it looks like it could be one of the best superhero movies ever made.
As with most movie trailers these days, we suspect you missed some key details and/or Easter eggs dotted throughout the three-minute teaser. Hey, we don't blame you if you did – after all, there's so much going on in the trailer that its secrets could have *ahem* flashed by your eyes without you noticing.
In any case, we're here to help. Below, we've picked out seven things you might have missed from The Flash's latest teaser. Before you dive in: if you missed the trailer's arrival yesterday (April 25), you'll want to watch it first. Check the teaser out below, and then read on for our Easter egg trailer round-up.
1. Return of the Bat
This may be the Flash's first solo movie outing, but Warner Bros. is definitely making sure that Batman fans – especially those who loved the Michael Keaton films – know Keaton's version of the Caped Crusader has a huge role to play in this flick.
Keaton's Batman has been front and center of the film's marketing push in recent months, and that continues in the movie's latest teaser. In fact, the first 40 seconds are dedicated entirely to the, well, return of Keaton's Dark Knight.
From the eerie, run-down exterior of Wayne Manor – an obvious nod to Tim Burton's gothic Batman films (two of which Keaton starred in) – to the late 80s/early 90s Batcave (the Batcomputer from 1989's Batman and 1992's Batman Returns has been perfectly replicated here), the attention to detail and clear homages to Keaton's run as the Dark Knight are clear to see.
The same can be said of the Batsuit collection we see, too, as well as the return of Keaton's Batman's iconic Batmobile and Batwing – the latter of which we see descend into the Batcave like a real-life bat leaving its roosting station. Oh, and, later on in the trailer, we even get Keaton's Batman recount his iconic "You wanna get nuts? Let's get nuts!" line from 1989's Batman, too. Chef's kisses all round.
Want to read more Batman content? Check out our Batman movies ranked piece, or find out how to watch the Batman movies in order.
2. Colors to set the mood
The Flash, which will help turn the DCEU into the revised DC Cinematic Universe (DCU), is going to be a visually arresting spectacle. Bright, eye-popping hues largely dominate the screen whenever Barry Allen is on the screen, with muted tones and more monochromatic shades taking residence in sequences concerning Batman, General Zod, and, on occasion, Supergirl.
That said, there is a telling difference between the colorama used to depict the two versions of Barry – those being Barry Prime, who we know from Zack Snyder's Justice League, and this alternate timeline's version of Barry – in The Flash, especially where memories centered around their respective iterations of their mom is concerned.
For Barry Prime, recollections of his deceased mother are always shown in a muted, pastel-blue color. In contrast, alternate-reality Barry's memories of his mom, who is still alive in this different timeline, are defined by a bright, yellow aesthetic, which indicates he had a far happier childhood with his mom still in the picture.
3. Man of Steel callbacks
It's not just Keaton's Batman who gets tons of references in this trailer. Callbacks to 2013's Man of Steel, the first Superman film starring Henry Cavill, are littered throughout. We already knew General Zod and his antagonistic faction of Kryptonians, who were defeated in Man of Steel, are back as the film's villains, but there are plenty more for fans to pick out from the new footage, too.
At the 1:10 mark, we see Sasha Calle's Supergirl ask the two Barrys if they know what the 'S' symbol on her supersuit means (it means hope, FYI). Later, we see one of Zod's henchmen attack the Batwing in the exact same way they attacked a US fighter jet in Man of Steel, too – the soldier in question leaping onto the cockpit and punching out the glass windscreen. In short: expect many more Man of Steel and Justice League references to appear in The Flash.
4. Suit up
After Keaton's crowd-pleasing rendition of his "Let's get nuts" line, we see three of our four heroes – Supergirl and the two Barrys – speed onto the screen in their supersuits during the climactic battle with Zod's forces.
We've seen Barry Prime and Supergirl's costumes multiple times, but this is one of our clearest looks yet at alternate-reality Barry's Flash suit. And, curiously, it looks like a repurposed Batsuit, which Keaton's Bruce Wayne likely cooked up for him.
How do we know for sure? The yellow, repurposed utility belt around his waist is a dead giveaway. The helmet, too, looks like a redesigned Batcowl – you can even see the filed-down Bat-Ears on the cowl itself, as well as a spray-painted Flash symbol over the Batman logo on the chest piece.
5. An electric introduction to superpowers
Based on previous footage we've seen, it appears that the alternate-reality Barry doesn't have the Flash's superpowers in his universe, so the team conducts an experiment to give him those abilities so that he can help them fight Zod. It's either that or, as a consequence of traveling back in time to save his mom, Barry Prime loses his super-speed based powers, so Batman and Supergirl devise an experiment to help him get them back.
At the 2:09 mark, it appears that said experiment takes place in the Batcave. We see one of the Barrys (most likely Barry Prime – we'll explain why in a moment) chained to a contraption that looks like the Batcomputer. Is this used as a lightning conductor to gift Barry Prime his powers? We certainly think so.
We also think the alternate-reality Barry will try to save Barry Prime. If he thinks the experiment is too dangerous, maybe he tries to end the test early, resulting in the lightning flowing through the pair and gifting alternate-reality Barry the same super-speed power set. (NB: This footage was seen in the film's first official trailer, not this one!).
6. Bad Barry?
One of the most intriguing shots in this trailer occurs at the 1:57 mark. In it, we see Barry Prime being tortured by an individual off-screen, with our hero being subjected to some purple-hued lightning that's causing him endless amounts of pain.
So, who's responsible for this? We don't think it's Zod – he's not likely to have the technology capable of hurting the Flash, even if the Kryptonians are a highly advanced civilization. It won't be Supergirl or Batman, either, as they're fellow heroes of the piece.
The only person is could be is another universe's version of the Flash, aka another Barry Allen. They'd possess the lightning-based, super-speed abilities needed to make them capable of injuring or torturing another version of the Flash, so we're confident that an evil version will show up as a secret villain. There are multiple versions of evil Flash characters in DC comics – Dark Flash and Reverse Flash being the most notable – so we could very well see one or both of these characters make their live-action debuts here (with Ezra Miller playing one or both of them, too).
7. Fly me to the moon
The final shot of the trailer is as much of a doozy as the nostalgia-inducing Batman segment at the start.
In it, we see Keaton's Batman – with the two Barrys in tow – disembarking from the Batwing, presumably to stealthily infiltrate the Russian base where Supergirl is being held prisoner. There's some fun, jokey dialog in this brief scene, but it's the shot of Batman dive-bombing away from the Batwing that's making fans grin from ear to ear.
As you can see in the image above, the Batwing's positioning in front of the full moon is a clear tribute to a strikingly similar shot seen in 1989's Batman, which itself is a callback to Batman's Bat-Signal – aka the giant light, complete with Batman's sigil, that Commissioner Gordon turns on every time he needs the Caped Crusader's help. Clearly, a lot of care and attention has gone into the Batman portions of this movie.
For more DC-based coverage, find out how to watch the DC movies in order. Alternatively, get the lowdown on Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, the final DCEU film set to arrive before it switches over to the DCU, and then read about the DCU Chapter One films and shows we're most excited about.
