Leaked art work from The Flash shows Barry Allen in a re-purposed Batman Returns suit and it’s… goofy?

As we all wait with bated breath to see what’s to become of the DCEU under James Gunn (here), a new bit of leaked promo art from this summer’s The Flash, has given us a goofy look at what happens when Flash puts on the Batsuit.

Sort of.

The leaked art from, we believe, Flash Film News, shows Ezra Miller’s Flash – both of them (rumour is there’s a bad Flash in the movie) – along with Sasha Calle’s Supergirl and Michael Keaton’s Batman, all of which we knew would be in movie but there’s a goofy (yes, it’s goofy) surprise in on the left of the image:

Appearing behind Barry Allen’s main Flash suit is another, very weird-looking Flash and, while the internet seems baffled by what they’re looking at. But we’re not baffled, no-siree.

So, you may recall waaaaaay back in September 2021, Flash director Andy Muschietti shared this image:

At the time, we knew this was the chest of Michael Keaton’s Batman suit from 1992’s Batman Returns sprayed red and we speculated that it may indicate that the villain, or one of the villains, of the movie might be Red Death, an evil hybrid of Flash and Batman: An evil fusion of Batman and the Flash. Red Death represents Batman’s fear of losing members of the Bat-family, his love for them and his regret for those he failed. His dialogue and his Speed Force Infection imply he might also represent Batman’s fear of old age slowing him down.

And this may still be the case, although we reckon that what has happened here is that an alternate Barry Allen has had to forge a make-do suit using and old Batman suit – why? Don’t know but there’s no doubt that what we’re seeing in this funny-looking bit of art:

We’re baffled by this, of course; can a Batsuit stand the pressure of the speed force? I guess we’ll find out but there’s no doubt it looks like this because Flash just doesn’t fit into a Batsuit the way Batman does as he’s likely not as muscular and possibly not as tall. The wide neck – famously restrictive in the Keaton suits, meaning he couldn’t turn his head as Batman – looks insane! Also, the cut-off ears? Ugh.

And we’re still betting that Miller is playing Flash and the villainous Reverse Flash in the movie.

Honestly though, I like that DC can have silly fun and don’t find this worrying at all, after all Flash’s new suit, Batman’s new suit (which we first saw here) and Supergirl’s suit all look great, so why not add a little bit of crazy in there too?

Let me know your thoughts, gang.

The movie will explore the Multiverse of the DC Universe and will also see characters from throughout the DC universe appear, including another Batman in the form of Ben Affleck returning once more with Ezra Miller returning as the Scarlett Speedster.

The Flash releases on June 16th 2023.