In 2023’s The Flash, the integrity of the DC multiverse is threatened when Barry Allen continuously travels back in time in an attempt to save people from death. While his actions are well-intentioned, they have the unintended consequence of causing the multiverse to implode, putting multiple timelines on the verge of destruction. This is illustrated in the film through a sequence featuring cameos from previous on-screen DC heroes (and even those who never got their shot, including Nicolas Cage’s Superman). One of the characters seen is Helen Slater’s Kara Zor-El, and while she liked The Flash as a film, she still isn’t sure what to make of the various cameos.
Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, where she voiced her support for current Supergirl actress Milly Alcock, Slater recounted her experience working on The Flash. “I loved that movie The Flash. Ezra [Miller] was so lovely and knew about my graduate work in mythology and wanted to talk about that,” she said. “I was in this very wild machine with 600 eyes around it. But they could have just put a Barbie doll in because I’m de-aged so much. They were so kind to fly me out to London, but I don’t know that they needed to.”
The Flash, one of the final DC Extended Universe installments released before the DC Universe reboot revved up, proved to be a controversial project for a variety of reasons. As far as on-screen factors are concerned, the film’s special effects came under heavy fire, with many criticizing the unpolished look of some key set pieces, including the now-infamous, cameo-heavy Speed Force sequence during the climax. Director Andy Muschietti explained that the shots were “intended” to “[look] a little weird” since the Speed Force is being presented through Barry’s perspective. Some people believe the film actually ran out of time and money to finish the effects, which is a major problem in the industry.
While it was very nice of Warner Bros. to fly Slater to London for The Flash, the actress is right in saying it probably wasn’t necessary to do so. Slater’s Supergirl makes a brief, wordless appearance alongside Christopher Reeve’s Superman, as the two Kryptonians look on while their dimension comes close to colliding with another. Slater is de-aged to look as she did in the 1984 Supergirl film. If Slater’s Kara had any lines of dialogue, it arguably would have made more sense to bring the actress to set so she could act out a scene. Theoretically, the scene could have been filmed with a stand-in or body double who would have their face replaced with Slater’s likeness. Or, Supergirl could have just been entirely CGI for her minimal screen time.
Besides the questionable quality of the special effects, the multiverse cameos in The Flash drew a hefty amount of criticism because they were perceived as little more than empty fan service. As the multiverse has become a more prevalent part of superhero movies, some projects have used it to great effect in a way that enhances the story (see: Spider-Man: No Way Home). In the case of The Flash, it played more or less as a simple checklist of past DC actors. On one hand, it was nice to see some of those icons be recognized in a modern movie, but the cameos didn’t contribute anything of note to the narrative, making them more distracting than impactful.
It’s a shame because The Flash drew inspiration from the Flashpoint comic storyline, one of the most famous arcs for the character. The Flash was a film that had a lot of potential, but it unfortunately wasn’t executed in the best way. Hopefully, things work out better whenever the DCU introduces its version of the Flash. James Gunn has suggested it’ll be a couple of years before audience meet the new iteration (seeing that The Flash only came out three years ago), so ideally, DC Studios will spend that time developing a take that will resonate with audiences.
What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
