Billy Crudup used to be what studio execs like to call "box office poison". You put him in pretty much anything and audiences just don't seem to show up. I'm not so sure that was true so much as he chose to take roles in films that were intentionally under-the-radar. That trend has continued even though some of those movies, such as Spotlight, have become bigger than originally intended. He's still prone to dabbling in the occasional blockbuster, especially for Warner Bros., and he's just become part of their DC Comics Cinematic Universe.
Crudup will play the father of Barry Allen in The Flash, which stars Ezra Miller as the scarlet speedster. Barry's father wasn't really a big deal until the CW TV series and a recent comics reboot made him considerably more important. In both he's accused and convicted of the murder of Barry's mother, although the true culprit may have been another speedster. We don't know if any of that will play out in the movie but with Crudup on board the role should have some significance.
Of course, this isn't Crudup's first go'round in a major DC Comics adaptation. He famously swung a big blue glowing penis as Dr. Manhattan in Zack Snyder's Watchmen. Chances are we won't see that duplicated here, but then one never knows...
Directed by Rick Famuyiwa and co-starring Kiersey Clemons as Iris West, The Flash opens March 16th, 2018. [Variety]
