We may be getting close to a new Fastest Man Alive.
Three weeks before filming begins on the first episode of the CW series Arrow to feature DC Comics character Barry Allen, Latino Review claims to have the inside scoop on the top three contenders for the role.
Barry Allen is expected to appear in episodes 8, 9 and 20 of the show's second season, with the third episode serving as a backdoor pilot for a potential spinoff series in fall 2014. According to Entertainment Weekly, a casting decision will need to be made shortly. "We’ll have to have somebody by September 30," said Arrow executive producer Andrew Kreisberg, "which is when we start shooting [his first] episode. So there is that timeline. But it’s been a really exciting process just getting to meet so many fantastic actors and seeing the enthusiasm that so many people around town have for the character. It’s just amazing — I have pictures of myself at age four holding a Flash and a Superman doll. That I’m sitting here writing the Flash and Green Arrow now, it’s more than my little nerd heart can bear sometimes."
Latino Review names three actors that have jumped to the forefront -- Matt Barr (shown above), James Mackay and Grant Gustin.
Barr is a 29-year-old from Texas who certainly has the look and build to pull off both Barry Allen and The Flash, making him the most likely candidate at the moment. He's perhaps best known as Johnse Hatfield on the TV miniseries Hatfield & McCoys and also appeared on the TV series Hellcats and One Tree Hill.
Mackay is a 28-year-old Australian actor that appeared on the television series The Straits and will be seen in the upcoming film Singularity. He does have dark brown hair though, which could mean that he'd have to dye his hair blond for the role. However, it's not like we haven't had a dark-haired Barry Allen before...
Gustin, meanwhile, was born just months before the previous Flash TV series debuted on CBS in 1990. The 23-year-old from Virginia is best known as Sebastian Smythe on the Fox series Glee and Campbell Price on 90210. He seems the most improbable, especially considering that Arrow star Stephen Amell is now 32 and Barry Allen is supposed to be a police forensic scientist that doesn't resemble a high school student.
Of course, since these are unconfirmed contenders, it's entirely possible that none of them will actually win the role. Obviously, we're going to learn one way or the other within the next couple of weeks and on the bright side, the casting can't be as controversial as Ben Affleck playing Batman, right?