via Warner Bros.
Warning: this article contains major spoilers for The Flash
If there’s one aspect of The Flash that received heavy criticism during its screenings and reviews, it’s the excessive use of CGI, particularly in the movie’s third act. Unfortunately, spoilers are already circulating on social media platforms. Interestingly, among all the events in the film, it’s the CGI controversy that is dominating discussions. Major spoilers ahead.
The scene sparking these discussions involves various DC cameos as the multiverse begins to collapse. One of the cameos includes Christopher Reeve’s Superman from the late ’70s. While it was an exciting Easter egg to see iconic heroes from DC’s past and unreleased characters, fans were disappointed that CGI was used instead of other available actors. Some argued that Warner Bros could have utilized archival footage from previous films to achieve the same effect.
But let’s consider Warner Bros’ intention to bring back Superman from the 1978 film. After all, Christopher Reeve portrayed the character four times and became an iconic figure. In this case, there’s one actor who is still alive and perfectly suited for the role — Brandon Routh. He not only played the Man of Steel from Earth-96 in the Arrowverse, but he also starred as Superman in Superman Returns, a movie based on the 1978 Superman film. The best part is that he’s alive and would have been a more respectful choice than using CGI to resurrect a deceased actor.
Although the film received praise for paying homage to the entire DC franchise, there was a missed opportunity to cast existing actors as various DC superheroes from different multiverses. Warner Bros and DC had the entire CW cast they could have invited for brief appearances. Alternatively, they could have used Henry Cavill, as reports indicated he was on set for a cameo that was ultimately cut. It’s a shame that the studio resorted to deepfakes and CGI when they still have access to the original films.
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