Maribel Verdu has become an integral part of The Flash Family.
The Spanish actress has been cast to play Barry Allen’s mother Nora for “The Flash” film. The Andy Muschietti-helmed film, starring Ezra Miller and Ben Affleck, is loosely based on the Geoff Johns and Andy Kubert miniseries Flashpoint. Barry chooses to go back in time to prevent the murder of his mother, but alters the timeline in the process. Michael Keaton returns to the cape and cowl as the alternate version of Batman that Barry will encounter. Exact plot details are being kept close to the chest at this point, however. Kiersey Clemons will portray love interest Iris West, who will make her debut to fans this Thursday in the upcoming Zack Snyder’s Justice League. However, departing the project is Billy Crudup, who portrayed Henry Allen, Barry’s father, in the Whedon version of Justice League. This is reportedly due to a scheduling conflict with Crudup’s Apple series The Morning Show. Regardless, the role will be recast.
Maribel Verdu – Who is She And What Do We Know About Barry’s Mother?
Verdu, a Madrid-born performer, has an extensive resume in foreign films and music videos from the time she was 13. Internationally, she is best known for her work in Guillermo del toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth and Alfonso Cuaron’s Y Tu Mama Tambien. She also starred in the music video Lola Soledad by Grammy winner Alejandro Sanz. Her body of work has earned her two Goya awards.
Nora’s role in Barry’s journey towards his identity as The Flash was expanded in Geoff Johns’ miniseries The Flash: Rebirth. A retcon of his history because of archfoe The Reverse Flash, Nora had been murdered when Barry was only eleven. As the result, Barry’s father, Henry, had been framed for the murder. The questions he had surrounding his mother’s death and his desire to exonerate his father drove Barry into the world of forensic science. Nora’s murder had still been a cold case when Barry both met future wife Iris and had been struck by lightning. Only as The Flash had Barry finally discovered the truth, that an enemy he had not even made yet revenged himself by altering the past. “Revenge in reverse,” as he termed it. Writers had seen fit to make Nora more relevant beyond a motive to become a crimefighter; it was she that introduced young Barry to the Golden Age Flash comic books, which also fed his fascination with science. Her kindness and humanity remains Barry’s driving force behind his continued activities as The Flash.
Verdu is the second actress to portray Nora Allen in a live-action format. Michelle Harrison portrayed Nora on The CW’s The Flash starring Grant Gustin, and has returned numerous times through flashbacks or alternate versions.
Principal photography of The Flash is set for this spring in London, England, and the film’s scheduled release date is November 2022.
