The prospect of DC’s famous “Crisis” storyline has hung over The Flash since its pilot, even resurfacing with Season 3’s finale. The comic arc typically leads toward Barry Allen’s end, but star Grant Gustin thinks The CW series could eventually stage a full Crisis arc, if perhaps a few years down the line.

First, a refresher: The pilot episode’s 2024 newspaper tantalizingly suggested “FLASH MISSING: VANISHES IN CRISIS,” an allusion to the 1985 DC Comics-wide crossover that merged dozens of universes into new continuity, and claimed the lives of both Supergirl and Barry Allen. Some even suggested that Season 3’s “Finish Line” finale paid tribute to this, as Barry Allen sacrificed himself into the speed force, leaving Wally West to take over as Central City’s Flash.

Obviously, Grant Gustin will return as Barry Allen in Season 4, but it’s worth wondering if The Flash has any larger designs on the Crisis storyline, especially as the CW series might still be airing by 2024. ComicBook.com even posed the question to series lead Grant Gustin, and the actor intriguingly alluded to the possibility down the line:

We don’t really talk about on a yearly basis but it was mentioned early on and that’s a goal. Obviously we’d have to go I think ten years to reach that. So there’s a possibility for sure. It’ll be fun to get there.

Season 4 will keep busy with The Thinker (and evidently Danny Trejo), but it’s also worth wondering about the longevity of the Arrow-verse. Supernatural is holding strong at thirteen seasons, but ten years of The Flash would be more than adequate, closing out in the same 2024 as the pilot. Arrow would be finishing Season 12 at that point, and Supergirl Season 9, so it’s not outside the realm of possibility that a Crisis-style event could conclude one, or more series.

Not to mention, this past season even visited one version of Barry’s 2024 future, so might the series’ endgame have been in front of us all along? Could the same Barry that “vanished” mark a self-sacrificial end to the series, or at least Gustin’s tenure as the title character?

It’s an admittedly out-there possibility, so we’ll just stick with The Flash Season 4 in the meantime. Watch the trailer below, and stay tuned for the October premiere.

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