Hear our full chat on my podcast “Beyond the Fame with Jason Fraley.”
Fans of DC Comics are super excited as “The Flash” finally opens in movie theaters nationwide this Friday.
The film co-stars Sasha Calle (“The Young and the Restless”), who makes history as the first Latina to play Supergirl, a.k.a. Kara Zor-El, the powerful Kryptonian who possesses similar superpowers as her cousin Superman.
“When [the planet] Krypton dies, they are both sent to Earth to find a new home,” Calle told WTOP.
“They’re the same, they have the same powers in terms of what they can and cannot do. Depending on the universe or multiverse, maybe one has more experience than the other being on Earth and controlling their powers in the Yellow Sun as opposed to the Red Sun where they don’t have powers. This is definitely a nerd’s conversation!”
The latest Supergirl costume design differs from the comic books, now re-imagined for the 21st century.
“The new costume that the beautiful creators of this team have made for this iteration of Supergirl is very beautiful,” Calle said. “It’s very mobile, it works, it protects her and allows her to move and function as a superhero. I also think it’s so beautifully designed and it is a different, more androgynous version of the costume.”
The story follows Barry Allen (a.k.a. The Flash) as he travels back in time to prevent his mother’s death, trapping him in an alternate reality. As a result, Barry seeks the help of his younger self, an aging Batman and Kryptonian refugee Supergirl to save this alternate world from the resurrected General Zod and return to his real home.
“Barry Allen basically goes back in time, he plays with time to try to save his mother,” Calle said.
“We learn our lesson of what happens when you mess with time and fate, so it’s a really cool movie because of his time travel. He kind of breaks the universe and there’s this whole multiverse storyline and a lot of characters mesh together and worlds start colliding. It’s very nostalgic and fun, there are new things and old things and a very fun experience.”
The film marks the long-awaited stand-alone film for this version of The Flash, who first appeared in “Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice” (2016), “Suicide Squad” (2016) and “Justice League” (2017).
Co-star Ezra Miler gained early acclaim in their career for indie gems like Lynne Ramsay’s “We Need to Talk About Kevin” (2011) and Stephen Chbosky’s “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” (2012), but the rising star has recently gotten into legal trouble.
The DC Extended Universe is hoping that any bad publicity from Ezra’s off-screen antics will be overshadowed by the film’s on-screen novelties, namely the return of Michael Keaton as Batman. “The Flash” marks the first time that Keaton has played the Caped Crusader since Tim Burton’s “Batman” (1989) and “Batman Returns” (1992).
“A total legend,” Calle said. “It’s so cool to see Michael Keaton back. It’s also just a very fun experience for people to go back and watch the Tim Burton movies maybe before or after they watch ‘The Flash,’ because there’s a lot of beautiful things that have been added to this film. You get to see his car, The Batmobile, and you get to see a really large version of his Bat Cave, so it’s very iconic and a really nostalgic and beautiful experience.”
The time travel also resurrects General Zod, whom Henry Cavill’s Superman killed in Zack Snyder’s “Man of Steel” (2013). Returning to the role is Oscar nominee Michael Shannon (“Revolutionary Road,” “Nocturnal Animals”).
“He’s a beautiful actor,” Calle said. “I was very blessed to work with him. He was always so gracious when the camera was on me and he was off camera, he always gave me 100,000% and I’m very fortunate for that.”
Instead of Snyder’s gloomy presentation, this time the director is Argentine filmmaker Andy Muschietti, who scared the crap out of us in his remake of Stephen King’s “It” (2017).
“Andy’s a genius, man,” Calle said. “He’s such an artist. He’s also a fan, just like us. He brings everything. This movie has so much heart and you can tell that Andy just loves this film and that everyone on this film really loves it. He brings the darkness, but each character really shines on its own. The best way to describe it is that Andy really brings the heart and drive to this film and we all follow. It’s a really beautiful collaboration.”
Hear our full chat on my podcast “Beyond the Fame with Jason Fraley.”
