THE FLASH Casts Original Flash John Wesley Shipp as...???

The Flash now has The Fastest Men Alive.

TV Guide reports that John Wesley Shipp, who played none other than Barry Allen in the 1990-91 CBS series The Flash, is joining the cast of the CW pilot.  The only thing is, we don't know (yet) what role he'll be playing, but if The Flash is picked up as a series, his role will grow into a recurring status.

Shipp is the latest casting addition, joining Grant Gustin as the modern Barry Allen, Candace Patton as Iris West, Jesse L. Martin as Detective West, Rick Cosnett as Detective Eddie Thawne, Danielle Panabaker as Caitlin Snow, Carlos Valdes as Cisco Ramon, and Tom Cavanagh as Harrison Wells.  The only remaining uncast role is Hartley Rathaway, known to Flash fans as The Pied Piper.

CBS' The Flash ran (get it?) for just a single season 22 episodes, but faced strong competition from Fox's The Simpsons and NBC's The Cosby Show.  In addition to Shipp, the series featured Amanda Pays as Dr. Christina "Tina" McGee, Alex Desert as Barry's fellow Central City Police Department forensic scientist Julio Mendez, Mike Genovese as Barry's boss Lt. Warren Garfield, Joyce Hyser as Megan Lockhart, Mark Hamill as The Trickster, Michael Champion as Captain Cold, and David Cassidy as The Mirror Master.

Although Shipp's role in the new Flash pilot is unrevealed, it's possible he could be playing Henry Allen, Barry's father who is wrongly imprisoned for the murder of Barry's mother Nora.  The role was played in the 1990-91 series by M. Emmet Walsh.

The pilot, to be directed by David Nutter, is expected to begin filming next month.