11 things nobody wants to admit about The Flash

3. The Flash series was far more successful than the DCEU Flash

Remember the (earned) outrage when it was announced that The Flash star Grant Gustin would not be reprising his role on the big screen in the DC Extended Universe? That Ezra Miller would star as the character in multiple DCEU films before leading his own Flash movie?

There’s an irony in the fact that the film, which spent a decade in development hell, was finally released weeks after the series completed its run. Its nine season run, that is. And there’s an even greater irony that, even after the Scarlet Speedster’s silver screen foray, the definitive version of The Flash is still Grant Gustin’s version.

The movie was not the success that Warner Bros. Discovery wanted it to be. Not even Batman could save it from underperforming at the box office. And, as admittedly great as it was, it did nothing to prove that the decision to cast a separate cinematic Flash was worth it – and that’s no shade to Ezra Miller’s strong leading performance.

On the other hand, the Arrowverse series enjoyed an incredibly long and successful run, cementing itself as one of the greatest superhero shows ever made. Even with its many highs and lows, it changed the game for the superhero genre on television and made both the Scarlet Speedster and Grant Gustin household names. And when we reflect on the legacy of the DC hero, the series will stand out as perhaps the most revolutionary part of his history – something that the movie was unable to do.

We don’t know if The Flash will be a part of James Gunn’s DC Universe going forward, but we do know that whenever the vast majority of people think of him, Grant Gustin’s Barry Allen is the one that will come to mind. And that’s something the DC Universe should make the most of if they decide to introduce a new version of the character.