The multiverse is a plate of spaghetti: an interview with the creators of “The Flash”, Barbara and Andy Muschietti

There’s a clever scene in The Flash where Bruce Wayne aka Batman (played again after 31 years by Michael Keaton) explains to his counterparts The Flash and The Flash (both played by Ezra Miller) how the whole multiverse works. He uses freshly cooked spaghetti (with tomato sauce and parmesan) as a visual aid: the time strands and parallel worlds of the multiverse are as hopelessly confused by time travel and interference as the noodles on the plate.

When we interviewed ‘The Flash’ director Andy Muschietti and his sister and producer Barbara Mussetti, the first thing we wanted to know was who came up with the idea for this ingenious metaphor? But of course we also talked about other things, such as the film’s long, varied production history and the new DCU.

Who came up with the brilliant spaghetti idea?

Barbara: [zeigt stumm auf Andy]

Andy: I must admit my memories are a little fuzzy, but I remember having the idea for a visual representation of Bruce Wayne’s explanation. And I remember it started with chopsticks, then it became slices of pizza and finally we ended up with spaghetti. And like I said: vague memories, but I think the concrete idea with the spaghetti comes from it [Drehbuchautorin] Christina Hodson came.

Barbara: The biggest change is: the film has been shot [lacht].

Andy: [lacht] This is really quite a drastic change. But seriously, there was a blueprint from the previous versions, but we messed up a lot. For example, we brought in Michael Keaton as Batman and changed a lot of other things. We’ve deepened the emotional connection between the two Barrys and the end is almost all ours or the whole beginning with the baby shower [Anm. d. Red.: In der ersten großen Actionszene des Films muss The Flash einige Babys retten, die aus der Entbindungsstation in einem der obersten Stockwerke des Gotham General in Richtung Boden fallen].

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Andy: No, we weren’t mad. The multiverse was DC’s first, since the 1961 Flash Of Two Worlds comic strip line, so it should have been a long time before that happened in theaters. I believe it has taken so long because of the constant new beginnings and the constant staff changes. But now we are ready.

And of course Marvel has every right to use the multiverse concept, I think they’ve done that in the comics as well. To me, the multiverse is a metaphor for the world we live in. It’s a window into thousands of new adventures.

What do you think of the new DCU?

Andy: We don’t know more about it than it’s been made public, but I’m excited to see what happens and I’m excited about the vision for this new universe. I find it very exciting that this new vision is here. Not because I don’t like the other one, the old DC Universe, on the contrary. But change is always good and James Gunn is a filmmaker I admire a lot. He and Peter Safran come up with great ideas.

“The Flash” has been running in German cinemas since June 15, 2023.