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The following contains spoilers for The Flash, now playing in theaters.
The main villain of The Flash has been shrouded in mystery throughout promotions for the film and much of the film itself. While General Zod's arrival on Earth is one of the major obstacles faced by Barry Allen and his allies in the movie, Zod himself is simply a part of the altered history Barry created. The real antagonist of the story is a character who, like Barry, is able to enter the Speed Force and has been manipulating the events of the entire film.
From the moment this villainous speedster -- officially dubbed the Dark Flash -- first shows up, fans of The CW's The Flash series will have a fairly good idea of how the story is about to unfold. Although the film attempts to keep the Dark Flash shrouded in mystery, having him appear out of nowhere to attack Barry on only a couple of occasions before he is properly revealed in the film's final act, there are clear echoes of the TV series' version of Savitar -- a villain who was ultimately revealed to be a future version of Barry Allen.
The Flash TV Series Already Made Barry Allen a Dark Flash
Savitar was a monstrous speedster and self-proclaimed "God of Speed," introduced in Season 3 of The Flash. His identity remained a mystery for most of the season until Barry realized Savitar knew him so well because he was his future self -- or, at least, a duplicate of his future self. Savitar was revealed to be a time remnant, a divergent version of Barry created by him going back in time and altering his own timeline. Savitar's existence turned out to be a causal loop, in which he created himself by killing Iris West, driving Barry to create time remnants to assist him out of desperation, resulting in the birth of the remnant who would become Savitar.
The Dark Flash who appears in the Flash movie bears a passing resemblance to Savitar -- both wear twisted, jagged costumes, giving them monstrous appearances, with pointed shoulders and blades protruding from their forearms. From the moment the Dark Flash first appears, it is evident that he, too, is a future iteration of Barry Allen. Like Savitar, he is also a form of time remnant, having been created when Barry changed his timeline, leading to his past self spending years in the Speed Force attempting to change the outcome of the battle against General Zod. The Dark Flash also effectively created himself, as he was the one who threw Barry out of the Speed Force into an earlier point in time, leading him to ensure the Barry of the new timeline still gained his powers.
The Arrowverse's Savitar Succeeded Where the Dark Flash Fell Flat
The Arrowverse's version of The Flash greatly benefited from being designed for TV. The mystery of Savitar's identity was given more time to loom over the heads of Team Flash and more space to throw out a few misdirects, inviting various theories from fans as to who might be behind the villain's mask. The serialized format also allowed for Savitar's identity to be revealed some time before Team Flash would finally defeat him, allowing the final episodes of Season 3 to openly pit the Flash against his villainous other self, more fully exploring their shared history and diverging timelines.
The drawn-out reveal of the Dark Flash's identity ultimately dulls any shock that may have remained in the twist. As The Flash's young Barry runs into the past, leaving the primary Barry alone in the Speed Force. The Dark Flash appears in young Barry's place, apparently confirming they are one and the same. However, the film continues to show the two Flashes confused by the Dark Flash's presence until he is physically unmasked. At this point, the older, evil Barry only has enough time to deliver a little exposition, explaining his own existence, before the younger Barry sacrifices himself to destroy the Dark Flash. The villain ends up feeling underutilized and is built upon an underwhelming, predictable twist.
The Flash is now playing in theaters.