The DC multiverse has been cracked open.
In teeing up its upcoming film slate at CinemaCon in Las Vegas, Warner Bros. revealed the new trailer for The Flash, which stars controversial actor Ezra Miller as the Scarlet Speedster.
Michael Shannon returns as General Zod, years after playing the role in 2013's Man of Steel, to wage war on earth. This time, however, there is no Superman to stop him.
Inspired in part by the 2011 comic book event known as Flashpoint, The Flash sees Barry Allen tapping into the speed force to travel years back in time to save his parents; his father was wrongfully blamed for the murder of his wife, who was killed under mysterious circumstances. Preventing that event fundamentally changes the timeline, creating a reality in which superheroes don't exist so there's no one to stop General Zod when he comes to invade earth.
Warner Bros. Pictures Michael Shannon returns as General Zod in 'The Flash'
"I went back in time to save my parents, but instead I completely broke the universe," Miller's Barry says in the footage.
Michael Keaton, who starred as the Dark Knight in the Tim Burton-directed Batman films, is Bruce Wayne in this new reality. He even delivers one of his iconic lines: "You wanna get nuts? Let's get nuts." And instead of Henry Cavill's Superman, we find Sasha Calle's Supergirl in this new timeline Barry's time-tampering has created.
Oh! And there are two Barrys — the Barry of the present who went back in time and the Barry of the past. Both of them team up with Bats and Supergirl to take on Zod, who declares, "This world must die."
Warner Bros. Pictures Ezra Miller's Barry Allens (yes, plural) and Sasha Calle's Supergirl take on Zod in 'The Flash'
For all the excitement surrounding The Flash, there's also a lot of pressure in light of Miller's various off-screen run-ins with the law, including multiple arrests and a burglary lawsuit. Miller, who uses they/them pronouns, issued a public statement last August, acknowledging "complex mental issues" and a commitment to seek treatment.
"Ezra is completely committed to their recovery, and we are fully supportive of that journey that they're on right now," Peter Safran, who heads DC Studios with James Gunn, had said during a DC presentation with press at the end of January.
Warner Bros. clearly stands by The Flash. Gunn called the movie an "extraordinary film" when announcing the trailer debut on Tuesday morning. He previously hyped up the title by saying the story of the movie "resets the entire DC universe."
Warner Bros. Pictures Ezra Miller's Barry Allen, Michael Keaton's Batman, and Sasha Calle's Supergirl assemble on 'The Flash' poster
"It's the best superhero movie I've ever seen. I think it's broken new ground," Warner Bros. Discovery head David Zaslav said of The Flash at CinemaCon. He called the movie "emotional, personal, and very inspiring."
CinemaCon audiences will be treated to an early screening of The Flash in its entirety on Tuesday evening.
The Flash will open in theaters this June 16. Watch the new trailer above.
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