Marc Guggenheim Says 'The Flash' Is "3 Movies In One"

Last month, Greg Berlanti shed some light on what his and his writing partners' plans were for The Flash screenplay, which he's currently at work on with Michael Green and Marc Guggenheim. At the time it sounded like they weren't quite sure which direction they were heading with the film, as Berlanti proceeded to throw out a number of wild comparisons to films like The Matrix, The Dark Knight, Se7en, and The Silence of the Lambs.

According to Guggenheim though, those comparisons may have been more apt than previously suspected. Read what he had to say after the break.

In a video interview with Newsarama (transcribed via Comic Book Movie), Marc Guggenheim expanded on Berlanti's comments, once again using Se7en and Silence of the Lambs as points of reference.

We are working on The Flash movie now and typing away... We are being true to whole Barry Allen science police, [back then] that's what forensic exanimers were, we are being true to those origins and updating them for the 21st century and I feel like, in many ways, the movie, it's three movies in one, it's part thriller, that forensic, cool, Se7en, Silence of the Lambs, then part superhero movie and part sports movie because there is an athleticism to this character that other superheroes don't have so that's fun to play with and you get to see how all three of those elements form each other and make the whole movie even better.

Guggenheim's use of "cool" in conjunction with Se7en and The Silence of the Lambs seems a little misguided, but this at least paints a slighter clearer picture of what we can expect from The Flash. Contrasting genres doesn't have to be a bad thing; if the darker elements of the film can be used to better emphasize the thrill, excitement and just plain fun of inheriting speedy super powers, that approach could potentially prove rather interesting. Although I'm not sure I understand the "sports movie" comparison. How is the athleticism of The Flash different from, say, Superman or Spider-Man? Maybe commenters more familiar with the source material can decipher what Guggenheim is referring to.

The script for The Flash is said to be due by the end of the year, and though Greg Berlanti had been in talks to direct, that's now unlikely to happen. Berlanti has only directed Life as We Know It thus far, and is looking for smaller scale projects to helm before he moves on to something as big as The Flash. There were also rumors that Bradley Cooper was a top contender for the title character, but he's since denied those.