The Flash has made many appearances in recent video games based on DC Comics. In the Injustice series, he was a popular fighter, and in the recent Suicide Squad Kills The Justice League, he was one of the first brainwashed heroes to be encountered. However, he has not played a starring role. It isn’t that Barry Allen has been absent from the pop culture world. The CW series ran for nine seasons and spawned many spin-offs. The character appeared in the Justice League movie as well. A video game was in development, but the game was canceled when the 2023 solo movie flopped.
The Flash Game Reportedly Canceled
Bloomberg gave many updates on what Warner Bros. had planned for their DC Comics characters in video games. While there was good news for Batman fans, it wasn’t good news for anything else. WB Games Montreal was the studio in charge of the game. They were the ones behind the Arkham series prequel Batman: Arkham Origins. Reports indicated they wanted to do a game based on the character of John Constantine. However, a higher-up suggested a game based on a more familiar character, so the team settled on The Flash.
It is unclear how deep into production the studio was on the game. However, the cancelation comes with 2023’s The Flash completely bombing at the box office. Pretty much all DC Comics-based content has been reorganized since James Gunn took over the connected universe. While video games aren’t necessarily a part of what Gunn is in charge of, his reorganization has spread to other parts of the company.
Can Warner Bros. Get DC Comics Video Games Right?
The success of the Batman series shows a great video game based on a comic book character can be done. While Bruce Wayne is in a class of his own, DC Comics has plenty of extremely popular characters with fans. Characters like The Flash could offer something new and different in terms of gameplay. While Batman has a wide array of powers, The Flash has one thing: speed. It would be very fun to see how developers give players the feeling of being the Scarlet Speedster.
In general, the success of comic book characters at the box office has not translated to video games. Marvel has dominated the box office over the last 20 years but hasn’t had success with video games. Obviously, part of the reason is the part of the company that produces movies is not the same as the one that produces video games, but you would still think there would be some success stories out there. It seems like an untapped market and if Warner Bros. could figure out the formula, they could have a cash cow on their hands.
Final Thoughts
Fans of The Flash will have to wait and see if anything gets resurrected in the near future. It might all hinge on James Gunn and the success of the movies. If he can usher in a new era of DC movies, it could open the door for other projects. Will we ever see Barry Allen star in a video game? We’ll have to wait and see.
