Tuesday, February 14, 2023

First Trailer for THE FLASH Teases Michael Keaton's Return as Batman

 
Batman returns...this June.

During Sunday's broadcast of Super Bowl LVII, which had the Kansas City Chiefs defeating the Philadelphia Eagles 38-35, Warner Bros. Pictures released the first trailer for The Flash, the upcoming film adaptation of the DC Comics superhero directed by Andy Muschietti, played once again by Ezra Miller.

Loosely based on DC Comics' event storyline Flashpoint, worlds collide in The Flash when Barry Allen uses his superpowers to travel back in time in order to change the events of the past. But when his attempt to save his family inadvertently alters the future, Barry becomes trapped in a reality in which General Zod has returned, threatening annihilation, and there are no superheroes to turn to. That is, unless Barry can coax a very different Batman out of retirement and rescue an imprisoned Kryptonian…albeit not the one he’s looking for. Ultimately, to save the world that he is in and return to the future that he knows, Barry’s only hope is to race for his life. But will making the ultimate sacrifice be enough to reset the universe?

The 2 minute, 50 second trailer opens with the Flash, sporting a new costume, arriving at his childhood home at night. We hear a voiceover from none other than Michael Keaton as Batman/Bruce Wayne, making his first appearance back in the role since 1992's Batman Returns, say, "Tell me something. You can go anywhere. Another timeline. Another universe. So, why do you want to stay and fight to save this one?"

Barry replies, "Because this is the one where my mom lives," referencing the death of his mother, Nora Allen (Maribel Verdú), as depicted in Flashpoint. "I'm not gonna lose her again." We see glimpses of Barry's past as he dances with Nora in the family kitchen, followed by a tragic scene of young Barry (Ian Loh) coming across his dying mother and his emotional father, Henry Allen (Ron Livingston).

In the next sequence, we hear Barry say in a voiceover, "Time has a pattern...that it can't help reliving. Different people, different worlds, drawn to each other like...magnets."

Barry comes across his younger self with longer hair, who is stunned and stammers, "This is my face. You stole my face."

The two Barrys arrive at stately Wayne Manor as we hear the voice of another Bruce Wayne, the one recently played by Ben Affleck, remark to Barry, "If you were to go into the past, you have no idea what the consequences could be."

We see fleeting images of older Barry being struck by the same bolt of lightning that gives younger Barry his powers, followed by a close-up of the Flash's ring that opens up and reveals his compacted uniform inside.

"Bruce," Barry replies, "I could fix things."

"You could also destroy everything," counters Bruce.

Sure enough, we get the return of Man of Steel's General Zod (Michael Shannon). Barry gasps in voiceover horror, "This can't be happening. I completely broke the universe."

Next, we see Zod emerge from a craft wearing his environmental protection suit. "We've been waiting for you," he remarks, extending a bladed weapon.

Still realizing how bad he screwed up, Barry says in another voiceover, "I created a world with no metahumans...and now there's no one to defend us."

We then see the bony, weakened form of Supergirl/Kara Zor-El (Sasha Calle), who appears to be a narrative substitute for the alternate timeline Superman featured in Flashpoint.

"Want some help?" asks Keaton's Bruce Wayne in a voiceover, as we see Barry power up the dormant Batcave, revealing the Batman (1989) versions of the Batmobile and Batwing. The younger Barry drops a mug as Keaton's Bruce Wayne steps into view, now wearing his Batman costume once again. "You...You are..."

"Yeah," replies Keaton's Batman with a dramatic pause. "I'm Batman."

As we hear the iconic notes from Danny Elfman's Batman theme, Batman swoops down into action and we see Affleck's Batman riding into action on a Batcycle.

"If I can't do what I did," Barry says to his younger self, "if I can't get back, there may not be a future."

We see various glimpses of a Dark Flash mirroring the Flash's movements, a lightning strike carrying electricity down from the Batwing hovering above, and Supergirl punching General Zod and unleashing her heat vision.

Next, Barry is shown lying on the ground, surrounded by military soldiers aiming their weapons at him. "What's the play?! Batman, what do we do?!" he shouts.

"We try not to die," replies Keaton's Batman as we see the emaciated Kara descend quickly from the sky and take out the soldiers.

In another scene, back at Wayne Manor, we see that Kara now looks healthier, presumably due to having access to sunlight once again. "It's not Clark," Barry remarks.

"My name is Kara," replies the Girl of Steel.

"I--I'm Barry," says the flustered older Barry to Kara. "Well, we're Barry," corrects the younger Barry.

Finally, as we see Kara in her Supergirl costume flying besides the Batwing, younger Barry holds his cell phone up to get a picture of her. Older Barry admonishes him, saying, "Barry, what are you doing?" "Our kids are gonna want to see this," replies Younger Barry as Supergirl streaks off into the distance ahead.

If you'd like to see the trailer for The Flash, you can check it out below thanks to the official DC Comics account on YouTube...


The Flash is scheduled to arrive in theaters on June 16, 2023.

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