Major spoilers ahoy for The Flash from beginning to end.
In what sounds like a fever dream ripped straight from a 1990s-era Justice League movie, The Flash director Andy Muschietti has let the cat out of the bag several weeks early to confirm that if Michael Keaton’s Batman wasn’t enough nostalgia bait for audiences the world over, Nicolas goddamned Cage will be making an appearance as Superman, too.
Following the dismal response to Shazam! Fury of the Gods – which limped out of theaters as the DCU’s lowest-grossing installment as well as one of the biggest flops of the modern superhero boom – there’s extra pressure riding on Ezra Miller’s long-awaited solo debut, and that’s without even mentioning the shadow their extra-curricular misdeeds have cast over the film.
While The Flash is tracking for a box office opening weekend north of $100 million, which would ironically see it outpace James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 should it reach the higher end of projections, there’s a growing feeling that Warner Bros. has leaked the Cage cameo early in order to manufacture some last-minute buzz, intrigue, and excitement.
For those hoping to see Cameo: The Movie, it’s pretty close to what you’re going to get seeing as both Keaton and Ben Affleck’s Bruce Wayne, Jeremy Irons’ Alfred, Michael Shannon’s General Zod, and Antje Traue’s Faora have been confirmed alongside Cage’s Kal-El and Sasha Calle’s debuting Supergirl.
That’s one heck of a roster to put together, but in the grand scheme of things, it may mean nothing if Gunn and Peter Safran decided The Flash pressing the reset button on the entire DCU will end up eliminating Barry Allen from any future plans, with Miller’s conduct creating questions over his long-term viability as a key cog in the machine.