Guggenheim Talks Barry Allen In "Flash"

Superhero movies are a dime a dozen these days. Just look at the upcoming slate of films set to be released this year and beyond: "Green Lantern", "Thor", "The First Avenger: Captain America", "The Avengers", "Iron Man 3", and "The Dark Knight Rises". I could go on, but you get the point.

Understandably so, the 'less popular' hero films have taken a back seat to some more high profile projects, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't keep an eye on them anyway. Especially if it's one of my favorite superheroes from my childhood, better known as "The Flash".

Writer Marc Guggenheim, who wrote the screenplay for the upcoming "Green Lantern" film, is pulling the same duty for the upcoming "Flash" project, and he spoke to MTV News about the film, and gave some details on the story.

Guggenheim is currently putting the finishing touches on the scrip with fellow writers Michael Green and Greg Berlanti, and explained in the interview why they decided to use the original incarnation of "The Flash", Barry Allen, for the film.

Said Guggenheim: "It's very similar for the whole reason we went with Hal for the Green Lantern. That's the Silver Age character. That's the character people grew up on. That's the name first associated with that character. So part of it is honoring the legacy aspect, and the other aspect is just practical - you can go forward, but you can't really go backward. Just from a practical standpoint, I feel it's better to go in a linear, generational fashion than it is to double back."

Guggenheim also spoke about the villains in the film, and the fact that "The Flash" has one of the best rogue's gallery lineups in comics. Although he didn't give any specific names who would appear (the studio would kill him), he mentioned that the villain Chunk will not appear in this first movie.

One of the most interesting quotes of the whole interview came when Guggenheim spoke about the tone and influence of the film, and the main characters profession.

Said Guggenheim: "When Barry Allen was the character, he was a science policeman. We’re obviously updating that and now he’s in forensics and CSI. The tone is sort of darker, and more like "Seven" and "Silence of the Lambs" in that mysterious and noir-ish way, which is also working in conjunction with the superhero elements. It's a lot of fun. I think the character is made for a story and a screenplay that gives you more than the sum of its parts."

I love that Guggenheim and the writers are working on a darker toned story, it looks to be more in the vein of "The Dark Knight" rather than let's say the original "Spider-Man", which to me is a plus. Utilizing Allen's profession as a policeman and being influenced by films such as "Seven" and "Silence of the Lambs" should make the film extremely interesting and help thrust a second tier-type hero into the forefront.

Although the project is a few years off, snippets like this only raises excitement and anticipation for audiences. Look for "The Flash" to run his way into theaters sometime in 2013.