If set photos and video snippets are any indicator, The CW is putting ample resources into producing The Flash pilot. Good thing. There's too much at stake not to, Fool contributor Tim Beyers says in the following video.
High production value is only part of a winning equation for The Flash. Source: Tim Beyers/The Motley Fool.
Just look at the strategy. Unlike Walt Disney, which is reserving most of its best characters for the silver screen, Time Warner's (TWX +0.00%) using TV to build its superhero universe, which makes every pilot critical. Yet it's The Flash that faces the biggest hurdle.
Look at the character. Twenty-First Fox (FOXA +0.00%) can get most of what it needs for the Batman prequel Gotham by constructing gloomy sets. For The Flash, Warner and The CW need visual effects superstars with the skill to make actor Grant Gustin run at super speed. They'll also have to create a gallery of rogues that could include, among other things, a hyper-intelligent talking gorilla and a time-traveling speedster who's every bit The Flash's equal. If done right, the show will feature weekly feats of expensive technical wizardry.
And yet, having now seen Gustin's comic book-style costume, there's no reason to expect anything less.
Grant Gustin stars as police scientist Barry Allen, who becomes The Flash. Credit: The CW/DC Entertainment.
There's also the writing team to consider. DC Entertainment Chief Creative Officer Geoff Johns is writing the script with Arrow co-creators Andrew Kreisberg and Greg Berlanti. All three are well-known comics fans. Johns has also written The Flash in the comics and vocally advocated for a movie starring the scarlet speedster.
His 2011 Flashpoint mini-series led into the relaunch of the entire DC Comics line and has since been adapted into the animated film, The Flashpoint Paradox. Add it up, Tim says, and there's every reason to believe this team is demanding the resources required to make The Flash pilot as epic as fans expect. If they succeed, a series order won't be far behind.
