'The Flash' Casting: Billy Crudup Is Once Again In Talks To Play Barry Allen's Dad

No, you haven't been caught in a multi-versal time warp: this isn't the first time we've written about actor Billy Crudup potentially joining a feature film version of The Flash. Crudup was attached back in 2016, when Dope and The Mandalorian director Rick Famuyiwa was on board as the film's director. Now, as the project has been delayed and gone through a rotating grab bag of potential filmmakers, It and It Chapter 2 veteran Andy Muschietti is firmly in the director's chair, and Crudup is back in early negotiations to play the same character he was once slated to play lo those many years ago.

The Hollywood Reporter broke the Billy Crudup The Flash news, reminding us that even through Crudup eventually left the movie as the project lurched its way through development, he did play the father of Barry Allen (Ezra Miller) in one scene of Warner Bros. and DC's Justice League back in 2017. We suspect we'll be seeing him pop up again in the extended, multi-episode Zack Snyder's Justice League version of that story on HBO Max next year, although it's unclear if he'll be in more than just that same scene.

This may ultimately be good timing for Crudup, who can surely roll his recent Emmy win for The Morning Show into a higher payday in this film. THR says he's striking a new deal to appear in the movie, which also counts Ben Affleck and Michael Keaton among its cast members, both playing different versions of Batman thanks to the film's trippy plot, which involves Barry Allen accessing the multiverse as he attempts to travel back in time and save his mother from getting murdered. Of course, any time you mess with time travel, there are going to be unintended consequences; I'd love to see Crudup playing different versions of the same character, just so we can see more of him. He's been one of my favorite actors for twenty years, improving every single project he's in and carving out a fascinating career.

Additionally, THR points out that it's unclear if Kiersey Clemons, who was cast as Barry Allen's love interest Iris West (and who also appears briefly in Zack Snyder's upcoming Justice League), will be showing up in this movie, or if that role will be recast.

Ezra Miller stars, Christina Hodson wrote the script, and Andy Muschietti directs The Flash, which is aiming for a theatrical release on June 2, 2022. You can learn more about the movie here.