The recently announced end for The CW's The Flash just received some sobering immediacy, courtesy of a photo from star Grant Gustin in his suit for the last time.
The photo, posted to Gustin's Instagram Stories, showcases a bittersweet selfie taken by the star, showing him in Barry Allen's signature crimson-colored speedster attire, sans mask and gloves, with a look of uncomfortable resignation on his face. The accompanied caption reads, "Last first time putting the suit on for the season," indicating that the image represents one of the last days at work on the set of The Flash (at least, in the costume), which concludes its run with an abbreviated 13-episode Season 9 run next year.
The CW's cancelation of The Flash, announced this past August, arrived to little surprise since the network is in the midst of a massive restructuring that has already seen many of its fellow shows in the so-called Arrowverse live-action DC Comics continuity abruptly bite the dust. Indeed, the once-thriving lineup has since been reduced to Stargirl, Superman & Lois and the upcoming Gotham Knights, with further plans seemingly stemmed. Moreover, with The CW -- a 2006-launched hybrid network of '90s-born channels The WB and UPN -- having been acquired by media conglomerate Nexstar, signs point to a new content strategy, moving on from the canon-connected superhero universe, which has been running for a decade since the 2012 arrival of Arrow, collectively under the stewardship of producer Greg Berlanti.
The Flash was a key component to the Arrowverse even before its branding warranted the multi-series nomenclature since Gustin's Barry Allen debuted in 2013 on Arrow in Season 2 in pre-superhero form, ultimately experiencing the particle accelerator accident that would send him on his own crime-fighting path. Indeed, the character would become central to the first spinoff series, The Flash, which launched in 2014, proving itself to be a prolific force in the subsequently expanded Arrowverse. It also eventually became the brand's crown jewel offering after the main show closed up shop in 2020.
The success and canonical prominence of The Flash positioned Gustin as one of the franchise's main representatives. Consequently, the announced end of the series was especially difficult to process. As the star expressed in his initial reaction to the cancelation, "It's been an incredible nearly 10 years of playing this character and getting to be a part of this show. I'm very excited to do this one final time, finish on our terms, and I'm going to enjoy every minute of it as much as I can."
The Flash Season 9 is scheduled to premiere on The CW in early 2023.
Source: Instagram