When The Flash premiered on June 16, 2023, one of the most highly anticipated aspects of the film was its star-studded cameos. It has been known for quite some time that The Flash‘s premise would tackle time travel, alternate realities, and the DC’s multiverse. The film follows Barry Allen (Ezra Miller) as he goes back in time to save his mother, accidentally creating an alternate reality that threatens the structure of the multiverse as a whole. With films like Spider-Man: No Way Home and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse using a multiversal premise to delight fans with cameos galore, many expected The Flash to do the same.
The Flash does include an abundance of cameos from all across DC’s film history. However, many of the cameos from DC’s past were CGI, which was used to include three deceased actors in the film. As a result, some of The Flash‘s cameos were quite controversial, given the ongoing ethical debate over digitally recreating a deceased actor’s likeness. In addition to these cameos though, The Flash did manage to throw in a few less complicated surprise cameos. Here is every cameo in The Flash.
Alfred Pennyworth (Jeremy Irons)
Jeremy Irons first joined the DCU as Batman’s faithful butler Alfred Pennyworth in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice. Given that Ben Affleck’s appearance in the film was confirmed beforehand, it was expected that Irons would appear as well. It wasn’t the most surprising cameo, but it was still nice to briefly welcome back Irons, who directed Barry through a complicated mission with his typical hilarious dry wit.
Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot)
Before The Flash‘s release, rumors alleged that Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman cameo was cut from the final film. Despite confirmation that Wonder Woman 3 is shelved, Gadot still made an appearance in The Flash. She was the film’s first major cameo, arriving just in time to fix Bruce Wayne and Barry’s mishandled mission. She upstaged the DCU’s male heroes for the umpteenth time and also humiliated them with her lasso of truth in the film’s funniest scene. Gadot was well deserving of another DCU cameo after she showed up in Shazam! Fury of the Gods. But all these teases do make us even more disappointed that she’s not getting another film of her own.
Thomas Curry (Temuera Morrison)
Temuera Morrison reprised his role as Thomas Curry, Aquaman’s father, in The Flash. However, he plays the Thomas Curry of the alternate universe that the Flash accidentally created. Barry manages to track him down by searching for people named Thomas Curry who own lighthouses, and calls him to try to get in touch with Aquaman. However, he quickly learns that Arthur Curry (a.k.a. Aquaman) is Thomas’ dog in this universe instead of his son, and his wife is a dog mom rather than the Queen of Atlantis.
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau’s cameo is the most well-hidden one in The Flash. The Game of Thrones actor’s cameo is a blink-and-you-miss-it moment that occurs when 2013 Barry gets his powers for the first time and goes a little power-crazy. As he bolts through the streets of Central City, he nabs a pepperoni pizza from an innocent bystander, and that pizza-bereft individual just happens to be Coster-Waldau.
Superman (Nicolas Cage)
Most of The Flash‘s cameos occur in a single scene where the multiverses begin colliding and collapsing due to timeline changes. Viewers get brief glimpses of the Superman and Batman variations on these collapsing worlds, and the most prominent Superman variant is portrayed by Nicolas Cage. This is a nod to the unmade 1990s film Superman Lives by director Tim Burton that was to star Cage as Superman. The scene seemingly incorporates aspects of the unmade film’s plans, including Cage’s long, flowing hair, Superman suit, and his battle with an enormous spider.
Superman (Christopher Reeve)
Christopher Reeve also cameos in the multiversal scene in The Flash. Reeve portrayed Superman in the 1970s and 1980s and is considered one of the best Superman actors of all time. His likeness was recreated using CGI to depict him standing and staring at the fissures in the multiverse. Many fans were outraged by this cameo though, which they deemed disrespectful because Reeve couldn’t consent to it, having passed away in 2004.
Supergirl (Helen Slater)
Helen Slater’s Supergirl was also given a brief CGI cameo and appeared standing next to Reeve’s CGI creation. She portrayed the role of Kara Zor-El in the 1984 film Supergirl. She later continued her DC legacy by appearing in Smallville as Lara-El and in the Supergirl Arrowverse series as Kara’s adoptive mother Eliza Danvers.
Batman (Adam West)
Adam West portrayed an endearingly campy Batman in the 1960s TV series of the same name. He also briefly appeared in the multiversal scene in The Flash as a CGI cameo. Additionally, Cesar Romero’s Joker laugh could be heard in the background of West’s scene. West sadly passed away in 2017, but he is remembered for being the perfect Batman role model for kids, who encouraged them to practice road safety and other positive habits during his stint as the hero.
Superman (George Reeves)
George Reeves made history as the first actor to ever portray a live-action Superman in the television series Adventures of Superman during the 1950s. The Flash also recreated his likeness using CGI during the multiverse scene. Though he passed away in 1959, his legacy lives on in every Superman actor who followed his precedent to take on the challenging role.
Jay Garrick
The Flash‘s multiversal scene also includes a CGI cameo of Jay Garrick, the comic book character who first took on the mantle of The Flash. The CGI creation boasts a noticeable resemblance to actor Teddy Sears. Sears appeared in The Flash TV show as Hunter Zolomon, though he initially posed as Garrick. Due to the resemblance, many news outlets reported that Sears has a cameo in the film. However, sources confirmed to TVLine that the CGI creation was not supposed to be Sears. It simply was a “generic Golden Age Flash representation” of the comic book character Garrick and wasn’t meant to be based on a specific actor.
Andy Muschietti
The Flash director Andy Muschietti also got a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo toward the end. When Barry returns to the present day, he races through Central City to get to his dad’s court hearing on time. In need of fuel, he steals a hotdog from a bystander, who happens to be Muschietti.
Bruce Wayne (George Clooney)
At the very end of The Flash, Barry returns to the present day, where the timeline is seemingly back to the way it was before. While leaving his father’s court hearing, he gets a call from Bruce Wayne, who expresses his joy at Barry’s father being acquitted. But something feels a bit off about his voice. He pulls his car up and we see that it’s not Ben Affleck portraying Wayne, but George Clooney. Clooney infamously portrayed Batman in the poorly received Batman & Robin, making it particularly hilarious that he’s supposedly the DCU’s new Batman. The film did such a good job of keeping this cameo secret that it managed to be one of the funniest and most surprising appearances.
Aquaman (Jason Momoa)
The last cameo in The Flash went to Jason Momoa, who reprised his role as Arthur Curry (a.k.a. Aquaman) for the film’s post-credits scene. In the scene, Barry can be seen trying to help a drunk Aquaman home from the bar while telling him about his multiverse adventure. He mentions how Batman often has a different face in different timelines, but that Aquaman is always the same in the timelines he exists in. At this point, Aquaman collapses drunk in a puddle and decides to just splash around while sending Barry to buy him another beer with his Atlantean treasure ring. The humorous cameo largely seemed to be a teaser for Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom and Momoa’s continued presence in the DCU.
(featured image: Warner Bros. Discovery)
