Worlds collide as DC FanDome explores the multiverse with Jim Lee, Greg Berlanti, Walter Hamada

Don't fret: There's no infinite crisis here. It's just the DC FanDome kicking off with a helper explainer course for those needing to understand the Multiverse. And nobody's more (Earth) primed to do so than DC Chief Creative Officer/Publisher Jim Lee, Warner Bros. Pictures President of DC-Based Film Production Walter Hamada, and Berlanti Productions founder/DCTV mega-producer Greg Berlanti. The three bigwigs held a panel at the start of DC FanDome to set the stage for all to come.

Perhaps the most tangible piece of the DC multiverse as fans know it has been news that broke in recent days that Ben Affleck's Batman would be returning to The Flash movie, alongside returning Batman actor Michael Keaton. At the same time, The Batman is set to star Robert Pattinson as yet another version of Bruce Wayne. "Flashpoint," which the upcoming speedster flick looks to draw from, is all about the various universes present in the DC canon and the opportunities they bring — so fans can expect some news developments (gender swaps, different secret identities, etc.) popping up across the wide-ranging variety.

Now the heads of the DC world are uniting to explain how the Multiverse is coming to the bigger DC strategy. Lee opened by touching on the "endless spectrum of characters" available when tackling the Multiverse of DC, which inherently leads to greater diversity — just because there're more heroes to cast. Berlanti's TV projects have been tackling this subject matter for years, as the Arrowverse explores all sorts of twists on familiar characters and literally did an adaptation of Crisis on Infinite Earths.

So what's crossing over next year? "Because of COVID and the pandemic, our aspirations aren't quite as large," Berlanti said. "We'd just be happy to start shooting again."

The three naturally mentioned the biggest multimedia crossover that the DC world has seen so far: Ezra Miller's cinematic Flash coming to the TV world and meeting that world's Barry Allen. A last-minute script, shot after the rest of the crossover event, came about thanks to a phone call. Lee pointed out a fun detail where Miller's Flash was never named "The Flash" until he appeared on TV, where that world's version of the hero recognized him and dubbed him The Flash.

Hamada explained that this particular crossover opened up doors for more Multiverse worlds. "There's this one Earth," Hamada said, that features the Justice League fans know from the films, "and one with a Year Two Batman" from Matt Reeves' upcoming film starring Robert Pattinson. These canons won't affect each other, just like Joker doesn't affect either. Now the DC films have the freedom to get a little weird simply because these worlds don't touch.

"The possibility is there," Hamada said of other Elseworlds stories like Superman: Red Son, though that particular story isn't in development in any form. "It'd be much better to be a special thing," Hamada said of films that showcase different versions of well-known characters, so fans shouldn't expect this to be a regular thing — though it'll certainly be fun when it does happen. Hamada also calls HBO Max a place where film and TV can "meet in the middle," so that might be somewhere to watch down the line.

Got all that? Multiverse experts now? Good, because The Flash is now set to hit theaters on June 2, 2022.

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