A Christopher Reeve co-star hits back at The Flash‘s Superman cameo backlash. There has been a long debate about The Flash‘s DC cameos, which brought back to life multiple deceased actors, including Reeve as Superman, for an extended multiverse sequence. The moment was off-putting to many, both due to the choice to bring back dead actors and the poor CGI the movie used to recreate its returning cameos. Ever since the cameos became public, fans have protested The Flash‘s choice to use Reeve and others.
On Twitter, Smallville Lionel Luthor actor John Glover, who worked with Reeve on the show and in multiple plays, defended The Flash‘s Superman cameo.
According to Glover, Reeve would have wanted to be a part of The Flash due to his love for Superman. That fondness for Clark Kent is what led the actor to play Dr. Swann on Smallville, with the former Superman actor interacting with the show’s younger Clark Kent, played by Tom Welling. Glover finishes by saying that Reeve’s family/ estate might have signed off on the cameo, as “Chris loved supporting the universe.”
Why Christopher Reeve’s The Flash Cameo Was So Controversial
There are a few reasons why Reeve’s The Flash cameo was so controversial. The main aspect that has contributed to the backlash is the morality of it, with Reeve, George Reeves, and Adam West being brought back from the dead through the use of CGI for silent cameos in The Flash. There is no indication that The Flash went to the actors’ family/ estate to ask permission to use their likenesses in the film, which has turned many fans against the cameos.
Another important factor is the actual look of the cameos. As Reeve and some of The Flash‘s returning actors are dead, the film had to completely recreate them with CGI, and confusingly also decided to do so for actors that are still alive. While CGI in superhero movies can be a marvel to look at when done right, The Flash is not that kind of film. The DC movie has extremely poor CGI, which undercut the emotion of seeing such an iconic character like Reeve’s Superman back on the big screen, as the hero looked more like a video game character than a real person.
Adding to that are the cameos that got passed over in favor of using dead actors like Reeve. While Grant Gustin was unlikely to save The Flash by showing up, the absence of the Arrowverse’s Barry Allen actor, who played the character for the last decade, was one of the main points of criticism from fans. Bringing back dead actors like Reeve, who has no relation to the speedster, instead of using Gustin or the original The Flash TV actor John Wesley Shipp, contributed to The Flash‘s cameos becoming so controversial.
Source: John Glover/Twitter
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