Season 2 of The Flash just a got bit scarier with the casting of the freaky Candyman actor, Tony Todd, as the voice of Zoom. Variety got the exclusive, confirming the Blue-clad speedster villain will make his debut in the second episode of Season 2, titled Flash of Two Worlds, that will also see the debut of Jay Garrick.
Todd will not be playing the physical embodiment of Zoom, whose appearance mimics that of The Flash, but with blue energy enveloping his body. Ever the relatable nerd, series EP Andrew Kriesberg told Variety the intent of the voice casting:
“Last year, with the Reverse-Flash, we just modulated Tom Cavanagh’s voice, and this year we wanted to do something a little bit different. Part of the mystery of the season is who or what is underneath the Zoom outfit, and so we wanted to do something like James Earl Jones as Darth Vader — this iconic voice coming out of this mask. Last year, we thought of the Reverse-Flash as a speed warrior; this year, Zoom is like a speed demon, and no one does demon-voice better than Tony Todd.”
That sounds like a pretty amazing idea and great casting. Kreisberg also invoked the beloved Marvel comics villain Venom with his description of Zoom’s suit:
“The Zoom outfit is much more organic than the Reverse-Flash suit. In a way, it’s hard to tell if it is a suit or alive… There’s no skin showing, for all you know there’s a robot underneath, or dark energy.”
Season 2 of The Flash will draw the mystery of Zoom’s identity across the season “like a horror movie — ‘who’s the killer? Who’s under the mask?’” in stark contrast to the early reveal in Season 1 that Harrison Wells was the Reverse-Flash.
Many of you who have read The New 52 introduction of Zoom in The Flash comics might think you know the secret identity of Zoom, but Kreisberg plans to keep viewers guessing, much like they did with Reverse-Flash in Season 1:
“We have to service the entire audience, both the fans and the non-fans, and I think we’ve shown up until this point a great deal of respect and reverence for the source material, so that we always feel like we’re fulfilling the comic book fans’ expectations while also not spoon-feeding them stuff directly from the comics.
So the story of Zoom and who and what he is… hopefully comic book fans will be happy because we’ve come up with a clever way to spin the tale, but that also makes it exciting for the people who aren’t as familiar with the comics and are just enjoying the show on its own terms.”
Keep an eye on the site in the upcoming weeks for our interviews with The Flash cast, including Grant Gustin’s first public discussion of the possible introduction of Zoom to the show.
The Flash returns Tuesday, October 6, exclusively on The CW.
dc comics the cw the flash tony todd Warner Bros TV zoom