Posted in: Arrow, Batwoman, Black Lightning, CW, Preview, Trailer, TV | Tagged: Armageddon, black lightning, cw, grant gustin, preview, season 8, The Flash

The Flash S08: Grant Gustin on Armageddon, Barry/Iris, Black Lightning

Next week, the combined forces of Javicia Leslie's Batwoman, Cress Williams' Black Lightning, Brandon Routh's Ray Palmer aka The Atom, Chyler Leigh's Sentinel, Kat McNamara's Mia Queen, and Osric Chau's Ryan Choi will team up with Barry (Grant Gustin), Iris (Candice Patton), Caitlin (Danielle Panabaker), and the rest of Team Flash as The CW's The Flash Season 8 kicks off with the 5-part event "Armageddon." Facing a threat unlike any before and pushed to their limits, our heroes find themselves in a desperate battle to save the world from a powerful alien threat led by Tony Curran's Despero (and then there's the matter of Tom Cavanagh's Eobard Thawne aka Reverse-Flash & Neal McDonough's Damien Darhk to contend with). With November 16th now only days away, Grant sat down with EW for a wide-ranging interview covering this unique Arrowverse crossover. In the following highlights, Grant explains what makes "Armageddon" different, which scene wit which guest-stars stood out to him the most, the dynamic Barry has with Cress Williams' Black Lightning aka Jefferson Pierce, and how things are looking for Iris & Barry on the homefront.

"Armageddon" Was More Like a "Flash Feature" Than an Arrowverse Crossover: "It was cool because it all took place at home, which was a little more convenient for the cast and crew of The Flash. We weren't juggling so many different production schedules. Because it was just one continuous Flash story, it is almost more like a feature compared to a lot of the other crossovers we've done, where the vibes are constantly different going to other sets and other crews and different scripts. All of these scripts were written by [showrunner Eric Wallace] and our writers. It kind of felt like our version of a little CW Flash feature. It was a little easier to balance because it was all Flash schedules and we were inviting all these other cool guests over to our home base."

Gustin's Scenes with Cress Williams' Black Lightning aka Jefferson Pierce Stand Out the Most to Him: "My favorite thing, and not to discredit anything else, is I have a lot of really cool scenes, a lot of the meat of the beginning of 'Armageddon,' with Cress as Jefferson from Black Lightning. We had like, I think, three jam-packed days of work, but it was a lot that we got into those three days. It was all at the Hall of Justice set, which is a cool location on this airfield. It was a day shoot leading into two night shoots. It was just a cool filming experience, but also I think some of the best heavy scenes that I have in the first three, four episodes. So I'm looking forward to seeing how those turned out. I know we had a good time shooting them, and there were a lot of different elements in those scenes.

On Barry & Jefferson's Dynamic & Why Black Lightning is Essential for Team Flash's Plans: "He's a lightning-based hero, which is not incredibly different from Barry's powers. Barry has this connection with the Speed Force, which is obviously different from Jefferson's powers. But the whole reason Barry goes to Jefferson during the "Armageddon" five-parter is for a very specific reason, for the powers that Jefferson has. He needs him specifically to help him achieve something that is kind of a dark twist in, I believe, the second episode."

Barry & Iris Are in a Good Place… But Outside Forces Will Be a Factor: "They're doing well. When we pick up, everybody is in a good place. We get to see them having this nice little romantic dinner at home that is comedically interrupted by one of our guest stars that shows up, but they're in a good place. We're still getting the signs that they'd like to start a family and move forward with their lives. But Despero's arrival and everything else kind of gets in the way of all that. Iris is still dealing with her time sickness, and Barry is not aware of that at this point. That's one thing Iris has going on that we'll start to get hints of."

Now here's a look at the official trailer for the eighth season of The CW's The Flash, followed by the official overviews for the November 16th season premiere "Armageddon: Part 1" and November 23rd episode "Armageddon: Part 2":

The Flash Season 8 Episode 1 "Armageddon: Part 1": PART ONE OF THE ARMAGEDDON FIVE EPISODE EVENT – When a powerful alien threat arrives on Earth under mysterious circumstances, Barry (Grant Gustin), Iris (Candice Patton) and the rest of Team Flash are pushed to their limits in a desperate battle to save the world. But with time running out and the fate of humanity at stake, Flash and his companions will also need to enlist the help of some old friends if the forces of good are to prevail. Brandon Routh guest stars. Eric Dean Seaton directed the episode written by Eric Wallace.

The Flash Season 8 Episode 2 "Armageddon: Part 2": THE FLASH SEEKS HELP FROM BLACK LIGHTNING – Despero (guest star Tony Curran) warns The Flash (Grant Gustin) that great tragedies will befall the speedster and cause him to lose his mind. Once that happens, Armageddon will begin. Determined to prove Despero wrong, Barry doubles down on proving his innocence but a devastating revelation from Iris (Candice Patton) pushes him to the edge and sends him to seek counsel from Black Lightning (guest star Cress Williams). Menhaj Huda directed the episode written by Jonathan Butler & Gabriel Garza.

Created by Gardner Fox and Mike Sekowsky and first appearing in the DC Comics' Justice League of America #1 (1960), Curran's Arrowverse take is a powerful and intelligent alien possessing incredible telepathic powers who left his homeworld—Kalanor—under mysterious circumstances. Now he's facing a deadly mission on Earth, one whose outcome will decide the fate of humankind and put him on a collision course with Team Flash.

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