After making some well-received appearances in The CW’s ARROW, Barry Allen is all set to get his own spin-off show. With production on THE FLASH set to start in the next few weeks, ARROW and THE FLASH producer Greg Berlanti has been speaking to Digital Spy about the differences between the two shows.

On the two titular characters, Berlanti said, “Barry (Grant Gustin) is different from Oliver (Stephen Amell). He’s a man of science and has more of a sci-fi bent, whereas ARROW has a bit more of a crime bent. We often talk about how Oliver comes off like a pessimist, but deep down he’s an optimist and has hope. Barry lost his mother at a very young age, his father was sent to prison for murdering his mom, he went through a lot of stuff – on the surface he’s bubbly and upbeat and seems like an optimist, but deep down maybe there’s no hope left. So they’re a really nice contract to each other and the show functions in that way, I think. Certainly in the pilot script Barry has an effervescence and a lightness, but there’s still a dark well beneath that.”

When ARROW first hit screens, several times we heard members of the crew stating that we will not see any form of superpowers. Given the nature and powers of The Flash character, this looks set to be different for the Scarlet Speedster-centric show, especially when it comes to S.T.A.R. Labs, a facility that has been referenced several times in ARROW.

On this, Berlanti added, “We’ve talked a lot on ARROW about the particle collider and Harrison Wells and S.T.A.R. Labs and so you’ll see S.T.A.R. Labs as an active part of the show.”

Whilst all of this sounds great, what happens if the unthinkable happens and THE FLASH pilot doesn’t get greenlit for a full series? “Fingers crossed we don’t screw it up and he gets his own show,” said Berlanti. “If he didn’t, I don’t think we would ever want to let Grant go. He’s too valuable. That would be our hope, I think – no matter what, to keep Barry part of the universe.”

So, whether THE FLASH does well or not, it appears that Barry Allen always has ARROW and Starling City to fall back on.

With Grant Gustin as Barry Allen/The Flash, THE FLASH has also recently cast Rick Gosnett as Eddie Thawne/Professor Zoom, Danielle Panabaker as Caitlin Snow/Killer Frost, Carlos Valdes as Cisco Ramon/Vibe, Candice Patton as Iris West and Jesse L. Martin as Detective West.

Berlanti is developing the show with another ARROW alumni, Andrew Kreisberg, and the pair will work with DC’s Geoff Johns, who has written the pilot episode. David Nutter, who also helmed the ARROW pilot, is directing.

THE FLASH pilot is expected to drop towards the middle of the year.

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