A new photo from this year’s Arrowverse crossover event, Elseworlds, confirms John Wesley Shipp’s return as well as him wearing his Flash suit from the 1990 TV show, The Flash. Ever since it was announced that Shipp would be starring in The CW’s version of The Flash in 2014, comic book fans had hoped that he would ultimately play a speedster, thus providing some sort of nostalgia for fans of the original TV series.
Fans got their wish when it was revealed that one of Shipp’s characters from an alternate reality is actually Jay Garrick - the original Flash superhero from DC Comics. And then things got even better when Mark Hamill reprised his role as the Trickster in The Flash season 1 and season 3, after already playing the character in the original Flash TV series. But, despite these nostalgic connections, there was never really anything definitively connecting the two shows together… until now.
Arrow actor Stephen Amell posted yet another set photo from the upcoming Elseworlds crossover event, which confirms John Wesley Shipp’s return as the Flash (though it’s unclear if he’s back as Jay Garrick or is playing an older Barry Allen) as well as his Flash suit from the 1990 TV series. Check it out below.
Update: Executive producer Marc Guggenheim provided a closer look at Shipp’s original Flash costume:
In addition to Amell wearing the Flash suit in the above photo, Grant Gustin can also be seen wearing the Green Arrow costume. It appears that the only person who’s wearing what they’re supposed to be wearing is Melissa Benoist, who plays The CW’s Supergirl. Of course, while she isn’t wearing a new suit for the Elseworlds crossover, her cousin, Superman (Tyler Hoechlin), has been spotted wearing Superman’s black suit from the comics. The writers and producers are clearly taking their love affair of alternate realities to the next level with the Elseworlds crossover. But the above heroes aren’t the only ones appearing in this year’s event.
One of the most anticipated aspects of the Arrowverse’s Elseworlds crossover is seeing Ruby Rose play Batwoman for the first time, in addition, of course, to finally introducing Gotham into the shared universe. Bringing Batman’s world (even without Batman himself) onto The CW is something the producers have toyed with for quite some time, but they are now pushing forward with the idea. It presents a number of opportunities to explore down the line, but for now, all the attention is on Batwoman and the Elseworlds versions of the network’s flagship superheroes.
More: Arrowverse Superman’s Black Suit Makes Up For Justice League’s Biggest Omission
Source: Stephen Amell