The panel for The Flash cast at FAN EXPO Chicago 2025 was titled “Enter the Speed Force with the Cast of The Flash.” Ironically, the event on Saturday afternoon began late. But the audience was quick to be entertained once the panel kicked off. Fans were treated to insight, reflections and tales from Grant Gustin, Candice Patton, Danielle Panabaker, Carlos Valdes, and Tom Cavanagh.
Let's dive into some of the topics that came up and the reveals that the cast made during the event.
The Flash’s favorite Superman
The FAN EXPO Chicago panel featuring The Flash cast may have all been about the actors who brought Barry Allen and other Flash characters’ stories and beings to life, but the event began with a focus on another DC superhero: Superman.
Moderator Andi Ortiz mentioned how Gustin had been messaging with James Gunn about Superman. She asked whether he'd seen the movie yet and for his thoughts. Gustin said he “loved it” and gave high praise to the new Superman, David Corenswet.
“I thought he was perfect,” Gustin said of Corenswet. “He’s my favorite Superman.”
Gustin also had kind words to say about Christopher Reeve. He called the late actor “an icon” and his “earliest hero.” But the compliments helped put into perspective how much Gustin enjoyed Corenswet's take on the Man of Tomorrow, reiterating his approval before the conversation switched subjects.
Whether Gustin’s Flash will return and ever interact with Corenswet’s Superman/Clark Kent remains to be seen. But Gustin has worked alongside Supermen before. During the Arrowverse’s Crisis on Infinite Earths event, Gustin worked with Tyler Hoechlin and Brandon Routh as two different versions of Superman, respectively.
From acting to directing on The Flash
While Danielle Panabaker may be best known for her work as an actor, The Flash gave her an opportunity to expand her skill set. The actress who portrayed Caitlin Snow made her directorial debut in The Flash season 5 episode 18: “Godspeed.” She went on to direct four other episodes of The Flash during the Arrowverse show’s nine-season run on the CW. When asked about her experience directing, she praised her co-star Tom Cavanagh.
“Tom's an excellent communicator,” Panabaker said. “He would have these ideas and really inspire and bring everyone together to make a moment happen.”
Cavanagh directed three episodes of The Flash, the first one being in season 3. He called the experience “an incredible pleasure.” He also spoke especially fondly of when episodes were directed by cast members, whether himself or Panabaker.
“They don't know Flash the way you know Flash,” Cavanagh said of outside directors. “They don't know the tempo and the tenor of what you're going to do in the scene. But you do.”
The process of becoming characters from The Flash
Gustin’s take on The Flash is so beloved by fans that they want him in the DCU. After playing him for nine seasons, he’s synonymous with the character. And it turns out becoming Barry was an innate process.
“I never felt like I was trying to find him,” Gustin said of becoming Barry/The Flash during the panel at FAN EXPO Chicago. “I always felt like I was bringing a lot of myself to him and was just going to follow in the guidelines of the writers within our story. And it was just kind of very natural. And I grew as the character grew.”
Carlos Valdes, who played Cisco Ramon/Vibe, was inspired by his castmates when trying to become his character.
“I watched these guys just play and get creative,” Valdes said of his co-stars. “That let me have more fun and get out of my head. And the more that I did that, the more I just surrendered to just trusting that it was already there.”
Candice Patton on being a Black female lead in The Flash
One of the things Candice Patton was asked about during The Flash panel at FAN EXPO Chicago was the impact of her portrayal of Iris West-Allen for representation in the superhero genre. She began her response by expressing her hesitance about taking credit for “making a pathway” for others. One fellow Black actress she shouted out was Halle Berry, who is known in the comic book movie/TV world for playing Storm in FOX’s X-Men franchise and starring in Catwoman (2004).
However, Patton emphasized the responsibility she felt to “give the best representation (she) could.”
“I felt like the show would last the test of time, and I wanted to leave some sort of mark as a Black woman on such a huge, important story,” Patton explained. “I wanted there to be a really, really great representation of a strong Black woman who's also seen as beautiful and desirable and kindhearted and strong and has her own agency. Because we don't get to see a lot of well-rounded Black women like that on television — at least at the time when the show started.”
She went on to recall how, before landing the role of Iris West, she’d often go in for parts that supported the lead character — like the lead’s best friend. That’s why she was shocked when she came in to audition for Iris on The Flash.
“It was just revolutionary at the time,” Patton said.
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