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The following includes spoilers for The Flash, now playing in theaters.
The Flash arrives in movie theaters with a host of problems not of its own making, beginning with star Ezra Miller and continuing through the colossal upheaval of DC's film and television department. With the DCEU marking time until the curtain falls -- and with Miller's prominent behavior hard to forget in a movie where they're almost constantly onscreen -- reality can't help seeping in. Though well-made and reasonably entertaining, it's the product of an extremely difficult point in its parent company's history: creating problems it simply can't hide.
One of the quieter issues involves another cameo by Gal Gadot, arriving on the heels of her similar appearance in Shazam: Fury of the Gods a few months ago. Wonder Woman is one of the few legitimate highlights of the DCEU, but Gadot's future participation in DC has apparently been shelved, along with prospects for a third stand-alone film. Her last few appearances smack of cynical transactions: they're burning off the required appearances in Gadot's contract. Both she and Diana of Themyscira deserve much better.
Wonder Woman Has Made Two Cameos for the Moribund DCEU
Diana appears early in The Flash, with terrorist trouble in Gotham and Batman calling in the cavalry. The Flash deals with what he calls "janitor duty" at a hospital high-rise while Bruce chases the criminals through the streets in his cycle. Wonder Woman arrives in the nick of time to prevent him -- and a terrorist carrying lethal chemicals -- from falling into the river. She vanishes once the plot begins in earnest and plays little role in the story beyond giving Barry a moment to stumble awkwardly over her beauty.
It doesn't differ much from her appearance in Fury of the Gods, where she pops in to solve a problem for the title hero, then departs with a cheery wave. That effort stands out more because the two characters share a common connection with classic mythology, but both are purely perfunctory. The Flash buries its bumper crops of flashier cameos, which does nothing beyond reminding audiences that this is a universe where a heroine named Wonder Woman exists.
The Flash's Wonder Woman Cameo Reflects Misplaced Priorities
The move speaks to expediency: generating a cheap thrill with Gadot's appearance before tossing her aside and moving on. And while the rival Marvel Cinematic Universe takes care to give their cameos a function in the plot, Wonder Woman clearly wouldn't be in these movies if the DCEU were still an ongoing concern. Gadot is great as always, but without more to do, her presence feels like a waste, as well as reminding DC fans just how much of the TV/movie baby has been thrown out with the bathwater.
That last part gives the Flash cameo a particular bitterness. The end of the DCEU brought the inexplicable death of a number of anticipated DC projects: most notably the Batgirl movie, but also a potential third Wonder Woman film. While WW84 met with middling response from fans, 2017's Wonder Woman is easily the best film in the DCEU, as well as providing the long-neglected third member of The Trio with a worthwhile coming-out party. Gadot tweeted what turned out to be an inadvertent goodbye to the franchise shortly before some of the big changes in the DCEU were announced: suggesting that a third film was very much on her mind when everything went sideways. Her appearance here is a sad consolation prize.
It's also a reminder of just how much Warner Bros. needlessly destroyed in its transition into the DCU slate of projects. The Flash has a theatrical release, with Aquaman's second film slated for later in 2023r. Wonder Woman's thankless curtain calls amid the DCEU's fire sale speaks volumes about their priorities. They're content to ignore the best thing that ever came out of the whole endeavor while throwing her a few pointless nods in someone else's movie. This character, above all, deserves a whole lot more before the inevitable reboot.
The Flash is now playing in theaters.