Maybe the most interesting moment in last weekend's Justice League trailer was a subtle hint about the wider DC Extended Universe.

The obvious focus was on Batman (Ben Affleck), Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot), Cyborg (Ray Fisher), Aquaman (Jason Momoa) and The Flash (Ezra Miller) banding together to fend off an invasion by the alien general Steppenwolf (Ciarán Hinds).

preview for The official full-length Justice League trailer has dropped

However, there were some very interesting Easter eggs about what's to come after Justice League, specifically a possible confirmation of a major Flash villain.

One brief scene shows Barry Allen (Miller) visiting his father Dr Henry Allen (Billy Crudup), who is very clearly behind bars… although we're not told why.

dr henry allen and barry allen in justice leaguepinterest
Warner Bros.

What we can guess - thanks to DC Comics lore - is that Dr Allen has been falsely convicted of murdering his wife Nora Allen.

This tiny scene is significant because in the comics, Nora's actual murderer is one of her son The Flash's greatest enemies - a time travelling speedster known as Eobard Thawne (aka Professor Zoom).

Professor Zoom is also frequently referred to as the Reverse-Flash because he possesses similar powers to Barry Allen, but is bent on murdering Barry's mother in order to spawn the fractured Flashpoint continuity.

Fans of The Flash TV series - which is not connected to DC's movies - have seen Tom Cavanagh and Matt Letscher both play the shape-shifting Eobard Thawne at different times throughout the show's history.

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While this nod to comics lore isn't definitive proof that the Reverse-Flash will end up in Ezra Miller's solo Flash movie down the road, it's at least a very strong hint in that direction.

The Flash is still in a state of flux, since it recently lost its second director. Filmmaker Rick Famuyiwa quit the movie last autumn over creative differences, months after Seth Grahame-Smith also dropped out as writer-director.

The latest reports have The Flash's screenplay being completely rewritten by Joby Harold, who has worked on Edge of Tomorrow and the upcoming King Arthur: Legend of the Sword.

However, it remains one of the projects still in contention for a 2018 release date along with Gotham City Sirens, Green Lantern Corps, Suicide Squad 2 and the Justice League Dark movie.

For now, you can catch The Flash when Justice League is unleashed in cinemas on November 17.


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Justin Harp

Night News Editor

Justin has been with Digital Spy since 2010, and in that time, has covered countless major news events for DS from the US. 

He has worked previously as both a reporter and sub editor for the brand, prior to taking on the position of Night News Editor in 2016. 

Over more than a decade, he has interviewed a wide-ranging group of public figures, from comedian Steve Coogan to icons from the Star Trek universe, cast members from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and reality stars from numerous Real Housewives cities and the Below Deck franchise. As a US contributor to Digital Spy, Justin has also been on the ground to cover major pop culture events like the Star Wars Celebration and the D23 Expo.