A few weeks back, The CW bumped up “The Flash” pilot from a backdoor pilot episode of “Arrow” to a standalone pilot, reportedly due in part to the strong impression that Grant Gustin made as Barry Allen before his debut episodes aired.
With production on “The Flash” pilot slated for early 2014, casting has already begun. And according to Ernie Hudson, he may end up with a sizable role on “The Flash” pilot. While appearing on the Cross the Streams podcast (via Comic Book Movies), Hudson noted that “there’s a spin-off of ‘Arrow’ called ‘Flash.’ I’m meeting the creators next week. So, I have to prepare for that.”
Hudson went on to reveal that he was up for the role of Barry Allen’s adoptive dad, but stopped short of saying his character’s name. However, Bludhaven Banter recently revealed that “The Flash” producers were looking for an African American male to play “Detective West is an honest, blue-collar cop who’s seen it all. A soulful, funny caring father to Iris, and a surrogate father to Barry, West came up through the foster system himself. He took in Barry after his mother’s murder and his father’s imprisonment. He believes in Barry and supports Barry’s efforts to prove his father’s innocence.”
Hudson is best known for playing Winston Zeddemore in the two Ghostbusters movies. However, Hudson also has a very long list of TV credits including a starring role in HBO’s “Oz,” “Law & Order,” “Modern Family, “ “Torchwood: Miracle Day,” “Last Resort” and “How I Met Your Mother.”
The murder of Barry Allen’s mother (and the framing of Barry’s father) are relatively new additions to the Flash’s backstory that were created by comic book writer Geoff Johns. It seems that the “Flash” TV series is going even further by putting Barry in the West household as a surrogate son and by changing the race of Barry’s love interest, Iris West.
This actually has some implications for a third character in the Flash’s mythology. Wally West is the nephew of Iris West and the first Kid Flash in the comics, who eventually became The Flash when Barry was written out of the comics for over two decades. If Iris and her father are African American in this series, then Wally West will probably be as well.
Presumably this choice was made to give “The Flash” some racial diversity, which is something that the original comics lacked. And Hudson would be a great addition to “The Flash” pilot, provided he gets the part.
