The Flash Season 4: The Thinker, Team Flash Without Barry, and More Hints from San Diego Comic-Con
How do you go into a panel – or, for that matter, tease a season – when the main character is missing in action and you don’t want to reveal how or when he’s coming back?
(Because, let’s face it, it’s not if. It’s how and when.)
That was the challenge for The Flash cast and producers at San Diego Comic-Con, including Grant Gustin, Jesse L. Martin, Tom Cavanagh, Candice Patton, Danielle Panabaker, Carlos Valdes, Keyinan Lonsdale, and EP Todd Helobing, and they got through it unscathed by giving us a lot of information on other things, like the Big Bads of the season, and with some good old avoidance.
For example, the ‘Big Bad’ for the season is going to be Clifford DeVoe aka The Thinker, a true genius who presents a different challenge for Team Flash, because as EP and writer Todd Helobing teased, “Season 4 will be about the fastest man alive versus the fastest mind alive.”
He’ll be played by The 100 actor Neil Sandilands.
But that’s not all we learned about the villains that’ll appear in The Flash Season 4, as The Thinker’s assistant, dubbed ‘The Mechanic’ was also teased. She’ll be played by actress Kim Engelbrecht.
We’ll also meet, at some point during Season 4, a character by the name of Breacher, who’s a bounty-hunter from Earth-19. He’ll be portrayed by Machete actor Danny Trejo.
But, enough with the bad guys – the good guys did tease some things about what was coming for them next season, with Danielle Panabaker making the audience clap for Caitlin Snow and for Killer Frost and then promising “all would be satisfied,” no matter who they’d clapped for.
She also said that “it’s so much more fun to be bad.”
But hey – we want Caitlin too! We’ll take a little of both if we have to, but not all evil, please.
As for the big plot twist that guided the story for all of Season 3, the actors shared with the fans that Candice wasn’t told that Iris wasn’t really going to die, and that Grant was the one who spilled the beans to her, because he didn’t want her to worry.
Say it with me: awwww.
Candice Patton also teased that, in Barry’s absence Iris was “Boss Lady at Team Flash” and that she was going to play a big role in helping Barry get out of the speed force, to which we just want to say two things.
It was about damn time, and please let it continue.
The cast also discussed the musical episode, with Jesse L. Martin confessing that acting and singing alongside Victor Garber was “a dream come true,” and everyone going on and on about how talented the rest of the cast was, which, to be fair, is true.
And, while they were on that much lighter subject, Helbing promised that Season 4 would be – tonally – much more like Season 1 than Season 3.
“We’re really trying to lighten a tone a little bit,” he said. “Last year got really dark, and we want to get back to the jokes.”
Back to the jokes and away from the speedsters. That sounds like something we might actually enjoy.
The panel also featured a Season 4 trailer, which you can watch below.
What do you think? Are you excited for The Flash Season 4? Will you be watching? Share with us in the comments below!
The Flash returns to The CW on October 10th at 8/7c.
Check out all of our coverage of San Diego Comic-Con right here.
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Lissete Lanuza Sáenz
Lawyer. Writer. Columnist. Geek. Falls in madly in love with fictional characters. Hates the color yellow, misogyny, and people who are late. Can always be found with a book. Watches an absurd amount of TV every week, often, while eating coffee ice cream. She has no regrets. You can check out her blog here: Absurday. Lissete is a senior writer for Tell-Tale TV. Follow @lizziethat