The Flash Director Posts A Head-Scratching New Image

Ezra Miller is finally getting his own solo outing as Barry Allen in Andy Muschietti's "The Flash," which speeds into theaters in 2022 — and it's shaping up to be an exciting project in the DC Extended Universe. It seemingly follows the Scarlet Speedster as he travels through the multiverse, meeting various different heroes along the way. Ben Affleck is already confirmed to return as the Batman audiences have loved since his first appearance in "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice," but it'll also put Michael Keaton back in the batsuit for the first time since 1992's "Batman Returns."

That's not all, because Sasha Calle is also set to join the DCEU as Supergirl, although it's not clear which version of the character she'll be playing within the multiverse. Clearly, things are going to get pretty strange when "The Flash" eventually makes it to the big screen — although the film hasn't had an easy journey so far. Warner Bros. has hired multiple writers and directors to helm the project over the years, (including "Into the Spider-Verse" alumni, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller) — but all of them left for a variety of reasons. It wasn't until "Birds of Prey" writer Christina Hodson and "IT" director Andy Muschietti came aboard in 2019 that things really started moving on "The Flash."

Now it seems as though the film is finally well on its way to audiences. Although it's still deep in production, the director hasn't been afraid of sharing surprising photos from the set. In fact, Muschietti's latest Instagram post has fans speculating about just how weird "The Flash" is going to get.

Andy Muschietti took to Instagram with his latest tease from the film, which shows a version of Michael Keaton's batsuit painted red, complete with a lightning bolt spray-painted over the top of the iconic bat symbol on the chest. However, eagle-eyed fans may note that this is actually a completely different version of the iconic costume seen in an earlier post from the director. The emblem itself has a flatter design, and the points of the bat logo aren't as prominent. It's also a bit higher up on the chest, allowing for a larger gap between the symbol and the plate of armor.

But why is the batsuit painted like this? Fans on Reddit have several different theories. Is this a costume that Barry's stolen for some reason and given a makeover, or is it something more sinister? In the comic book "Dark Nights: Batman – The Red Death," DC's Dark Multiverse introduced a villainous version of the Dark Knight who fused himself with Barry Allen so he could take the speedster's abilities for himself. Bruce Wayne then donned an intimidating costume — which bore a symbol combining the bat logo and Barry's unmistakable lightning bolt (via Fandom).

Since Ezra Miller's Flash will head through the multiverse in an attempt to save his mother's life, it's not impossible that he could meet a version of Bruce Wayne who did the same thing to an alternate Barry Allen. Obviously this is all just sheer speculation, and it could end up being something completely different — or even a throwaway joke that Muschietti is using just to get fans talking. Either way, "The Flash" is shaping up to be a fascinating project for comic book fans.