Is ‘The Flash’ the Last DCEU Movie? Here’s What We Know

‘The Flash‘ recently hit theaters, and we got to experience Barry Allen traveling back in time, which led to altering timelines and resetting the DC Universe. With that in mind, one question that pops up is what does that all mean for the next DC projects, and was ‘The Flash’ the last movie to be a part of DCEU? Let’s see what we know so far.

DCEU is steadily wrapping up its final projects, but ‘The Flash’ is not the last we’ve seen of ‘Snyderverse.’ ‘Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom’ will be released in December 2023 as the last movie in this universe and marks the final chapter in a series of 15 movies, while ‘Blue Beetle’ is ready to start the new DCU.

Barry’s actions in his standalone movie messed up with the timelines, leaving everything a bit chaotic and convenient to start anew. And while we might be done with the DCEU, it is not done with us because it still has Aquaman’s sequel movie in store for us. But let’s see in more detail what it is all about.

DCEU’s ten years long era is coming to an end

DCEU started off strong with the release of ‘Man of Steel’ in 2013, and it is fair to say that it has provided us with many different storylines and superheroes – some already seen on the big screen before, some not so much. This universe will be remembered as where some of the greatest superheroes had their standalone movies and team-ups, giving an impression of continuity.

After ten years, DCEU is now in its final year, and with ‘The Flash’ now being released, all that is left is the Aquaman sequel to hit the theaters, and that is it. To bring everything to a conclusion that makes sense, Barry Allen’s actions in his standalone movie actually helped with that.

Barry was hurt and angry because he most likely would not be able to prove his father’s innocence for a crime Henry did not commit, which led him to run faster than he ever ran before. He ran faster than the speed of light, enabling him to run back through time. After realizing that he can now time travel, Barry informed Bruce Wayne, who warned him that it is best not to meddle with time travel because it could harm the overall timeline.

Flash was aware of all the potential dangers, but he could not just sit still and do nothing, knowing that he could save his mother from being murdered and his father going to prison in the first place. So, he did what any grieving son would probably do-he tried to make things right. Barry went back in time and altered the events crucial for his mother’s survival, but he also created alternate timelines in the process.

In the alternate timeline, a Batman variant was portrayed by Michael Keaton. His appearance not only reminded us of some good old days but also informed Barry that the thing with changing the past not only affects the future after the changed event, but it also has consequences on the past before the changed event, and many alternate timelines tend to intervene with one another in the web of the multiverse.

And that is exactly what happened. Flash from the original timeline was a bit older, had more experience dealing with his powers, and had more knowledge about the speed force. However, his younger self from the alternate timeline was more stubborn and did not want to accept that some things can not be changed in any timeline, as they present constant points in time, and changing them would lead to multiple realities crushing upon each other. Nevertheless, the younger Flash effortlessly tried to change unchangeable, eventually leading him to turn into the Dark Flash.

‘The Flash’ provides closure for DCEU, but it is not the last movie in the franchise

Barry’s actions eventually caused the destabilization of the multiverse, and various timelines crashed on each other. Flash realized that he needed to bring things back to normal, and the only way to do that was to not interfere with his mother’s death, as that event could not be prevented in any timeline. We can consider that event as an act of fate.

So, Flash eventually made peace with the fact that he needed to let his mother go, but in the process, he altered a minor event that led to his father being released from prison. By simply putting canned tomatoes in different places on the shelf, Barry did not interfere with the timeline much, but it was enough to create some changes, including the fact that he erased Ben Affleck’s Batman from his timeline and replaced it with George Clooney’s variant of Batman.

‘The Flash’ did provide a closure for the DCEU because it explained the existence of the multiverse and alternate timelines, and because of that, the new DCU has a clean slate now to start anew with their projects separately from ‘Snyderverse.’

We still have one movie to look forward to in the DCEU: ‘Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom,’ which is expected to be released on 25 December 2023. Even though the movie plot is unknown, the post-credit scene of ‘The Flash’ showed us Barry talking to a drunken Aquaman and possibly explaining to him about the multiverse and alternate timelines.

‘Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom’ most likely won’t deal with the aftermath of Flash’s actions and will follow its own storyline, but it will be the last movie in the overall DCEU for sure.

Have something to add? Share your thoughts in the comments below!