The original idea with The Flash was to introduce the show as a 'back door' pilot in episode 20 of Arrow this year. But that all changed and The Flash will now have it's own pilot which, if successful, will result in a full season order for the 2014/15 TV calendar.
The show follows Barry Allen, a Central City assistant police forensic investigator who is haunted by an incident from his childhood that resulted in his mother's murder and his father's (wrongful) imprisonment.
Through a freak accident, Barry Allen is given the power of super speed that transforms him into the fastest man alive.
The Flash is a kinda spin-off from Arrow, but don't think it's a carbon copy. In a recent interview executive producer Greg Berlanti laid out the differences between the two shows;
"Barry is different from Oliver (Stephen Amell), he's a man of science and has more of a sci-fi bent, whereas Arrow has a bit more of a crime bent...We often talk about how Oliver comes off like a pessimist, but deep down he's an optimist and has hope. Barry lost his mother at a very young age, his father was sent to prison for murdering his mom, he went through a lot of stuff - on the surface he's bubbly and upbeat and seems like an optimist, but deep down maybe there's no hope left....So they're a really nice contrast to each other and the show functions in that way, I think. Certainly in the pilot script Barry has an effervescence and a lightness, but there's still a dark well beneath that."OK, let's go over all the casting we know about...
Grant Gustin has been cast in the title role, you may know him from Glee, if you like that kinda thing? or you may have already seen him as Barry Allen when he appeared earlier this season in episodes 8 and 9 of Arrow. I was quite skeptical to begin with but he turned in a solid performance and I now look forward to seeing him don the red spandex.
Jesse L. Martin (Law & Order) is cast as Detective West, described as an honest, blue collar cop who's seen it all. He took in Barry after his mother's murder and his father's imprisonment.
Iris West will be played by Candice Patton, she was in a couple of episodes of Heroes, and more recently, The Game. Iris is the daughter of Detective West.
Royal Pains alum Tom Cavanagh will play Harrison Wells, the mind and money behind Central City’s STAR Labs Particle Accelerator who becomes a pariah following the lab’s explosion.
The Vampire Diaries' Rick Cosnett is Detective Eddie Thawne, a recent transfer to the Central City PD. He has a mysterious past, which may be something to do with his Professor Zoom auto-ego.
STAR Labs bioengineering expert, Caitlin Snow, will be played by Danielle Panabaker (Friday 13th and Piranha 3DD!). She's a scientific researcher who gains superpowers of her own and becomes Killer Frost!!!
Carlos Valdes is playing Cisco Ramon. A mechanical engineering genius who becomes Vibe, with the ability to emit powerful sonic shock waves.
UPDATE - 22/02/14. - Michelle Harrison (the CW’s Emily Owens, MD) has been added to the cast the Flash. She will play the guest starring/recurring role of Barry’s mother, Nora Allen. We're guessing that we will see a lot of flashbacks to before her death then?
John Wesley Shipp, the actor who played Barry Allen/The Flash in the cult classic '90s series, has been cast in an unknown role. We'd take a guess that he's either Barry Allen's imprisoned father or Jay Garrick, the original comic book flash.
Straight off we can see that there's are clearly a lot more 'super powers' in The Flash than Arrow. The tone of the show is going to be very different.
The team bringing the show to the screen include co-creators Greg Berlanti and Andrew Kreisberg who, along with Geoff Johns, will write the pilot episode. The man who directed the Arrow pilot episode, David Nutter will be behind the camera for the pilot episode of The Flash.
But what happens in the event that The Flash pilot is not picked up by The CW? Greg Berlanti says they'd likely try and keep Grant Gustin on Arrow;
"Fingers crossed we don't screw it up and he gets his own show! If he didn't, I don't think we would ever want to let Grant go. He's too valuable. That would be our hope, I think - no matter what, to keep Barry part of the universe."Are you looking forward to The Flash?
