"Why Are We Doing This?": Grant Gustin Reveals The Flash Episode That Made Him Question The Arrowverse's Architects
The Flash ended in 2023.
The Flash
By Andy Behbakht
Published 1 minute ago
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The Flash actor Grant Gustin shares which major DC episode of the Arrowverse franchise had him questioning if it was a good idea or not. Throughout the Arrowverse franchise, the CW shows helped build out their larger DC TV universe, which has led to numerous crossovers over the years. While most of the crossover events were some of the most action-packed stories for the Arrowverse, there is one that took a very different route, which is The Flash and Supergirl's musical crossover, "Duet."
Even though "Duet" was incredibly well-received, there were definitely some hesitations, including from one of the leading heroes themselves. During his new appearance on Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum, Gustin was asked what it was like doing the musical crossover during the earlier seasons of The Flash. While Gustin admitted that he never considers himself a writer or having creative involvement beyond knowing "Barry better than anyone" after a couple of seasons, the Arrowverse alum added that it felt "early" when he discovered that they were staging a Supergirl and The Flash musical crossover, as he shared the following:
Going into it, I was like, ‘Why are we doing this? Like, why are we doing this?' I never really fought much of anything on the show, I never was like, ‘I don’t want to do to this. I never considered myself a writer. Over the years, I knew Barry better than anyone and there were certain story things I'd have conversations with, usually if I was calling the showrunner or writer, it was like, 'Hey, can I say this like this?' I never was pitching a different storyline. So yeah, when I saw that we were doing a musical, I was like, ‘Feels early!' [laughs] That was one of my first thoughts.
"Duet," which was The Flash season 3, episode 17, aired back on March 21, 2017, was the only time that the Arrowverse did a musical crossover. While taking place entirely on The Flash, the ending of Supergirl season 2, episode 16, "Star-Crossed," which aired the night before "Duet," did the set-up for the musical crossover, airing the following day.
As the Arrowverse kept expanding after the launch of Arrow, one of the reasons why there were a lot of talks in the fandom about the franchise doing a musical crossover was because of the fact that the DC TV dramas kept adding a lot of actors with musical backgrounds. Gustin even confirmed on Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum that the reason why the Arrowverse did "Duet" was because of how many stars they had who could actually sing. This includes the fact that they had recruited multiple Glee stars across the Arrowverse shows.
Even though "Duet" featured some incredible singers, from The Flash's Jesse L. Martin, Carlos Valdes, and Gustin to Supergirl's Melissa Benoist and Legends of Tomorrow's Victor Garber, concerns about the premise make sense. Given there had never been a live-action superhero property to do a major musical at that point, it's fair for someone like Gustin, who went into The Flash for drama and action, to question if adding singing would be a good idea for the series. Thankfully, "Duet" was so well-handled that it became a fan-favorite episode for The Flash, as well as among the many Arrowverse crossovers.
While it is understandable that Gustin would have some reservations about the Arrowverse tackling the musical concept, it's still great that The Flash TV show got to do it at least once during its run on The CW. It would have been a bigger waste for the franchise if they had simply never done it, given how many talented singers they had in the Arrowverse. Time will tell if future DC live-action properties will take some cues from The Flash and ever explore the world of musicals in any capacity.
Your RatingThe Flash
Release Date
2014 - 2022
Network
The CW
Showrunner
Eric Wallace
Directors
Stefan Pleszczynski, David McWhirter, Dermott Downs, Alexandra La Roche, Ralph Hemecker, Phil Chipera, Rachel Talalay, Marcus Stokes, Chris Peppe, Danielle Panabaker, Menhaj Huda, Jesse Warn, Glen Winter, Gregory Smith, Chad Lowe, Jeffrey W. Byrd, Rob Hardy, Tom Cavanagh, Kevin Tancharoen, Millicent Shelton, Vanessa Parise, Kevin Smith, Brent Crowell, Eric Dean Seaton
Writers
Lauren Certo, Judalina Neira, Kelly Wheeler, Alison Schapker, Zack Stentz, Joe Peracchio, Julian Meiojas, Lilah Vandenburgh, Keto Shimizu, Gabe Snyder, Mike Alber, Gabrielle Stanton, Jaime Paglia, Carina Adly MacKenzie, Emily Silver, Bryan Q. Miller, Ray Utarnachitt
The Flash follows CSI investigator Barry Allen, who wakes from a coma with super speed after a lightning strike. Collaborating with S.T.A.R. Labs, he adopts the identity of The Flash to safeguard his city, marking his journey as the Fastest Man Alive in this superhero tale.
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Source: Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum/YouTube
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