Marc Guggenheim is one of three writers --- along with Greg Berlanti and Michael Green --- recently hired to work on The Flash and Green Lantern 2. I think we'll have to wait for the release of the first Green Lantern (June 17, 2011) for updates on a potential sequel, but details are starting to surface on Warner Bros' Flash adaptation.
We've spoken with Berlanti a couple times in the recent months. Guggenheim took his turn to update on the progress of the film. Hit the jump for his quotes on his approach to the Flash mythology, the specific comic influences, and the potential for cameos and Easter eggs.
Courtesy of Guggenheim's interview with Newsrama:
On adapting The Flash comic books to feature film...
“We’re being true to the whole Barry Allen science police. We’re being true to those origins and updating them for the 21st century. I feel like in many ways the movie is three movies in one. It’s part thriller --- that forensic, cool, Seven, Silence of the Lambs --- part superhero movie, and part sports movie because there’s an athleticism to this character that other superheroes don’t have… And you get to see how all three of those elements inform each other and make the whole movie even better. It’s sort of like the way in Green Lantern we took a superhero movie and combined it with a space opera, here we’re combining the superhero movie with these other two genres and it’s just a blast.”
On specific influences in the comic books...
“We’re drawing I think a lot from a lot of different eras. Certainly Geoff Johns’ work has been an influence. Mark Waid’s run, particularly the stuff he wrote with the philosophy of speed and the philosophy of running has been a big influence. We’ve also tried to take our inspiration from the old Silver Age Barry Allen stories and imbue it with that sense of fun and wonder while still keeping that cool, slightly darker tone.”
On the potential for cameos and Easter eggs...
“I would say in terms of the collaboration between me, Greg and Michael, I’m the one who always going like, ‘We can do this cameo, we can do this little Easter egg’ and I’m a huge proponent of it. I’m a big believer in it. Obviously there’s a lot of those types of decisions get made way above my pay grade but I’m certainly always scheming. And with The Flash I have very particular ideas as to how I would accomplish it [laughs]… all sorts of other people need to weigh in on that sort of thing before it becomes a reality. I am on record saying I love it when movies do that. I’m a total sucker for that.”
I always thought The Flash was super cool, and I'm surprised it's taken this long for The Flash to get to the screen amid the modern comic book boom. (Though I also can't believe he's getting there before Wonder Woman, so what do I know.) I'm excited for this one, and I like hearing Guggenheim and Berlanti talk about the project, however cryptically.
