James Gunn Silences The Flash Casting Rumors—Here’s What He Really Said

Look, James Gunn might be steering the new DC Universe ship, but he’s also acting like its unofficial bouncer — standing at the door of the internet, responding to whatever wild fan theory or meltdown is trending this week. Case in point: the latest round of wannabe-casting chaos involving Grant Gustin and The Flash.

The Blonde Gustin Conundrum

So, here’s what set things off: a photo of Grant Gustin popped up online where — shocker — he’s rocking blonde hair. That’s apparently all it took for some fans to run with the theory that he was being lined up to play Barry Allen in the new DCU, since the classic comic book Flash does have blond hair.

Cue plenty of heated reactions online, including one especially dramatic fan post on Threads: "If Grant Gustin is not The Flash of the DCU, we will riot, if it’s Elliot Page… You hate Flash fans even more. #gustinornothin.”

James Gunn Jumps In

Gunn, true to form, couldn’t resist stepping into the comment section to clear things up — or at least, poke a hole in the hysteria:

'I keep being told people are going to riot over things, but I am as of yet to see a riot. Love Grant, by the way. I don't know what Elliot has to do with anything.'

Direct, a little snarky, and more than a little confused why Elliot Page is now apparently part of The Flash rumor mill. (Honestly, same.)

Where Is The Flash, Anyway?

Here’s the reality: nobody knows when The Flash might race into this shiny new DCU. Gunn’s said as much before. On the Peacemaker podcast last year, he lumped The Flash right in with Wonder Woman as far as whether their characters are official canon yet. If you want him to lock it in, you’ll be waiting a while.

The exact words were basically: we’ll see. Specifically, Gunn said,

'Yeah, are they canon? I don’t know. We’ll have to wait and see. I mean, they’ll exist eventually. Whether they exist now, I don’t know.'

Translation: the DCU already has enough new faces dropping in — from Supergirls, to Green Lanterns, to yet another Batman in his own alternate universe. Gustin with a new hair color isn’t the start of some secret soft relaunch. As of now, there’s zero evidence of The Flash (let alone Gustin’s Flash) getting the call any time soon.

What’s Actually Coming Down the DCU Pipeline?

So, for anyone ready to riot or reach for the red tights: maybe just pump the brakes (pun 100% intended). Here’s a quick rundown of where things stand

• Grant Gustin with blonde hair: Not a Flash tease, just a hairstyle change.
• Rumors about Elliot Page: No substance, random name drop.
• James Gunn on The Flash: Still undecided, no announcements, stop reading so much into Instagram photos.
• Actual DCU projects right now: New Superman, Supergirl, Lanterns, and another Batman — with lots more on Gunn’s whiteboard before Flash even lines up at the starting line.

In other words: The Flash’s future in the DCU is as mysterious as ever. Until Gunn breaks some actual news, don’t expect any surprise Gustin cameos. And if you’re desperately hoping for literally anyone else in the suit — keep refreshing those social feeds, just maybe don’t bet your hair dye on it.