The Flash Season 9 is confirmed to be the final batch of episodes for Grant Gustin's Scarlet Speedster, bringing an end to the Arrowverse's longest-running series. Jesse L. Martin, who portrays Joe West in the series, recently teased that the upcoming season will feature "a lot of familiar faces," indicating that returning characters will play major roles in the series.
Set photos already revealed that Captain Boomerang will make a comeback in the Season 9 premiere, a villain who was included in the second Arrow and The Flash crossover back in 2015.
Moreover, a surprising return was also spoiled by set photos since it unveiled that Batwoman actress Javicia Leslie is coming back as Red Death, a powerful metahuman who is a mashup between Batman and the Flash.
The character's exact role is still being kept under wraps, but a detailed scene description may have hinted at how the villain fits in Season 9.
Red Death Teams Up with The Flash Season 1 Villain
Following the confirmation that Javicia Leslie will return as Red Death in The Flash Season 9, Canadagraphs shared a detailed description of the villain's surprising team-up with a Season 1 nemesis of Grant Gustin's Scarlet Speedster.
The entertainment scooper revealed that Gustin and Leslie were joined by actor Paul Anthony, the one who portrayed Roy G Bivolo aka Rainbow Raider from Season 1.
Canadagraphs described that the scene features a standoff between Flash and the two villains:
"The scene had the three of them on set doing a scene where Flash is standing at 1 end of the courtyard, Rainbow Raider was standing more near the middle, and Red Death near the other end of the courtyard."
It was revealed that the Flash then walked slowly toward the other two "before Rainbow Raider is standing over him forcing [the hero] down to the ground."
Afterward, Leslie's Red Death then walked over to the Scarlet Speedster and utilized "some type of clap motion:"
"Flash walks slowly towards the other two, before stopping. Some dialogue is exchanged between them, before Rainbow Raider is standing over him forcing The Flash down to the ground, eventually laid out flat on his back. Red Death then walks over, stands over The Flash, and then does some type of clap motion, then they walk away."
User @ThemysciraBound shared a preview of the scene described above:
Canadagraphs also mentioned that the cast and crew also filmed a scene with just Red Death "standing in the courtyard" while yelling out to The Flash "to come and get her."
The insider then confirmed that a scene on a rooftop was also filmed, but no other details were unveiled.
Shortly after The Flash's production crew wrapped filming, Canadagraphs talked with Leslie, telling her how sorry he was about how the network treated Batwoman. The actress reportedly answered "with a pretty relaxed, "it's ok."
When asked if she will have a recurring role in Season 9, Leslie admitted that she doesn't know.
Why The Rainbow Raider & Red Death Team Up (Theory)
Rainbow Raider's return in The Flash Season 9 is surprising, considering that the character was locked away in Iron Heights during Season 1. However, in one of the key changes brought about by the Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover, it was revealed that Roy Bivolo mysteriously disappeared.
It seems that Rainbow Raider's comeback comes at an eventful time since he appears to be teaming up with Red Death. Given that Bivolo's powers include manipulating people's emotions, there's a chance that he could be controlling Red Death.
It is still unknown if this version of Red Death comes from the Multiverse or if this is the actual Ryan Wilder/Batwoman from Earth-Prime who gets corrupted by the speed force. If it is the former, then Bivolo would take advantage of a confused Red Death to potentially amplify her hate toward the Flash.
A team-up between Red Death and Rainbow Raider is already a dangerous encounter for Flash, but it's possible that Javicia Leslie's villainous speedster could betray and kill Bivolo at the end in order to gain the upper hand. The betrayal is actually similar to Red Death's comics history since the speedster is known for having a high kill count.
Meanwhile, Leslie's subtle non-confirmation that she will have a recurring role in The Flash Season 9 is pretty telling. Who knows? Maybe Arrowverse fans will finally get to see the long-awaited Batwoman and Flash team up to take down Red Death once and for all.
The Flash Season 9 is expected to premiere on The CW in 2023.
