Since the inception of The Flash, the show has been a major success for The CW, becoming one of the network’s most popular shows to date. This summer, the cast and creators returned to San Diego for Comic Con to talk a little bit about their third season. At the time of the convention, filming for season 3 had just begun so there wasn’t as much to tease, but we still managed to get some interesting hints to the results of Barry’s actions in the season 2 finale.
Grant Gustin went right into the topic of Flashpoint — the storyline involving Barry changing the timeline and saving his mother’s life — and what kind of effects we’d see going into season 3. When the season starts we will come in on Barry after he’s been in this new timeline for a while. He’s settled into the world and loves being in it. Gustin says that he will begin to feel remorse for his actions and that, “deep down he knows it was a selfish decision.”
In Flashpoint, Wally West has the mantle of Kid Flash and has the same abilities as Barry. Knowing this, Gustin tells us that Barry is content to take a backseat to the action. With Kid Flash in the world, he doesn’t feel the need to be the Flash, instead he can enjoy his time with his parents. However, the longer he remains in this timeline, the heavier the ramifications are. Gustin is tight-lipped on the exact details, but Barry’s memories will start to change and new memories will replace his old ones.
However, Flashpoint does not last the whole season, instead those ramifications will reverberate throughout the season instead. No clue on how it will be affecting the four night crossover with Supergirl, Arrow, and DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, but Gustin does admit that he knows something big about the crossover.
The biggest casting news so far has been the announcement of Harry Potter alumni Tom Felton as the villain for the upcoming season. His character, Julian Dorn, has been shrouded in mystery, and Felton himself couldn’t say much about the character after only shooting two episodes so far. “He’s a character with something really juice for me to sink my teeth into,” but the rest remained unknown. He hasn’t been asked to don any leotards or capes yet, though.
Felton describes the show as Friends mixed with Spiderman or Batman, calling it warm and being a big fan of the show personally. In comparing it to the set of Harry Potter, he got the sense that, “Everyone really wants to be there; everyone wants to make this as good as it can be.” This was the same on The Flash and Potter.
Since being casted as Wally West, there’s been an anticipation from viewers to see Keiynan Lonsdale don the classic yellow and red suit of Kid Flash. After a couple close calls, the Wally West of the original timeline didn’t seem to become a speedster yet, however we have learned that with Flashpoint comes some big changes.
Flashpoint’s Wally is a fully realized Kid Flash. Lonsdale talks about putting on the suit and getting tips and cues from Grant Gustin. He describes this version of Wally as a happier person, “You see a Wally that’s everything he’s wanted to be.” Although it’s still unknown whether or not the switch back from Flashpoint will have a change on Wally’s powers, but it’s safe to say the suit will be sticking around for a bit. When asked if there was another character within the DCTV universe he’d like to work with, he mentioned both working with Franz Drameh’s Firestorm and Danielle Panabaker’s Killer Frost.
After finally reaching the end of a long road of will-they-won’t-they in the finale for season 2, Barry left behind Iris and the rest of his family and friends to go back in time to save his mother. Candice Patton talked a little bit with us about the new version of Iris that we would see come Flashpoint. It seems that Iris will still be maintaining her role as a reporter and journalist, and perhaps we might even see a bit more of that?
She also seems to be playing a larger role with Kid Flash than she did with the Flash in the first season, as a stark contrast. However what doesn’t seem to have changed is her relationship with Barry. Patton mentions that Iris is still very much “Barry’s fixed point and his true north.” While their situations may be different, it seems that WestAllen fans don’t have much to worry about.
After two seasons of two different Harrison Wells, Tom Cavanaugh embarks on season three for a new version now with Flashpoint. Cavanaugh was evasive in what version of Wells we’d see next with this new season, but emphasized the challenge and rewarding aspect of getting to reinvent and create a new character with each passing season.
He also talked about the contrasts between the two versions of Wells, both as the outwardly kind but ultimately nefarious Wells who was actually Eobard Thawne, and also as the malcontent and abrasive Wells desperate to protect his daughter.
With Flashpoint, perhaps the biggest change in character we’ll see is from Cisco. In the trailer he looks like he’s a billionaire and now owns the property of STAR Labs. Carlos Valdez admits that this will be a very different version of his character. However, he does mention that no matter what version of Cisco we see, we’ll always see him tied to the engineer side of his character. Adding on the fact that Valdez suggestively hints that Cisco will be having the most interaction with the heroes, is it possible that Cisco is an aid to the heroes or a supervillain?
Valdez also talked a little about Cisco’s relationship with Wells, noting that the writers love the dynamic between the two characters and “it’d be hard to imagine them letting go of that.” The dynamic between the two characters is too hard to resist and has been evolving since the beginning. Indeed, Valdez cites the betrayal by Wells in season one as one of the sources of Cisco’s apprehension of his metahuman abilities.
Will we see him embrace those powers more in Flashpoint without the memory of the trauma?
Perhaps with one of the more tragic arcs this season, Caitlin suffered the loss of Ronnie after season one and was ultimately betrayed by Jay after revealing his identity as Zoom, Danielle Panabaker jokingly lamented the possibility that Flashpoint could trigger a happier ending for Caitlin, perhaps being happily married to Ronnie. However, Panabaker dodged questions about teasing the new season like a pro, giving little details about the new version of Caitlin we’d be seeing.
When talking about the Zoom revelation in season 2, Panabaker admitted that she knew about Jay’s identity going into shooting the beginning of the second season and had apt time to prepare. She mused about wanting to see more about Caitlin’s personal life, perhaps delving into her abilities as a doctor and also her relationship with her family.
With the possibility of crossing over shows, the actress hoped to work with some of the cast of Supergirl like her co-star, saying, “there’s not a lot of women on The Flash, and the women on that show are unbelievable.”
The effects of Flashpoint are undeniable, and it seems like it will reverberate throughout the television universe. With Flashpoint possibly winding up before the end of the season, it looks like our characters will be dealing more with the fallout of Barry’s decision. The Flash will premiere this Fall on Tuesday, October 4th on The CW.
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