‘The Flash’: Kiersey Clemons Confirmed As Iris West

Dope actress Kiersey Clemons is Iris West in Rick Famuyiwa’s The Flash, reports Variety.

This will be the second time Clemons and Famuyiwa will work together, with Famuyiwa having directed the young actress in last year’s Sundance hit Dope. Variety also reports that Kiersey was the number one choice to play Iris West in the first live-action film for The Flash.

This casting decision for The Flash is great for a couple of reasons. It’s another step towards more racial diversity for Hollywood, and Warner Bros. DC Extended Universe is already looking to be pretty racially inclusive. Suicide Squad is filled with actors and actresses of color in big roles, including Will Smith, Viola Davis, Karen Fukuhara, Jay Hernandez, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, and Adam Beach.

Casting Clemons also allows for another Black actress to play the role of Iris West, with the first being Candice Patton on The CW’s The Flash. There is a good chance we’re going to see Iris’ family, which may include Wally West popping up in future Flash movies, or in this first one. Keiynan Lonsdale was brought on during the second season as Wally West, and he will debut as Kid Flash in the premiere episode of the third season this fall.

Kiersey Clemons recently starred in Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising, which came out earlier this year in May. The actress’ filmography mainly consists of television roles, and The Flash is certainly going to be her first role in a major blockbuster. Although there are rumors that Clemons will appear as Iris West in Justice League, which is still currently filming at the moment.

She’ll be starring opposite actor Ezra Miller as Barry Allen/The Flash, who is also currently filming Justice League after making a brief debut in this year’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. So far, Miller and Clemons are the only two actors confirmed to be part of the cast for The Flash.

Rick Famuyiwa was brought on to direct the project last month, after writer/director and novelist Seth Grahame-Smith left. And Rick is definitely excited to be on board.

Last year, Famuyiwa revealed during an interview that he had been approached to possibly helm big-budget films, which is a departure from the lower-budgeted/indie films he’s done. But he enjoyed big spectacles just as much as anyone else and was certainly open to the idea of tackling something much bigger.

“I mean, there’s been a couple of things that have come my way that would be really interesting to do. So I’m kind of weighing and figuring it out. But yeah, I mean, look. I grew up on Spielberg and Lucas. That was sort of what inspired me to make movies. And so Back to the Future is like my one of my favorite films of all times and it’s why [the character] Dom calls Malcolm ‘McFly.’ And so doing that, taking sort of what I think I do well and then sort of putting it on that stage, I think is something that I’d really be interested in doing.”

The LEGO Movie directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller, who have story-by credit on The Flash film, commented on the announcement of Famuyiwa directing The Flash and praised him as a great choice for the project.

“We work with Rick and have been developing a pilot with him for a little while and are really big fans of his and Dope,” Lord said. “I think he’s a rad choice.” Lord’s partner Miller added, “He’s going to do a great job on it.”

The Flash is slated for release on March 16, 2018.

[Photo by Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images]