The Flash Scoop: Season 4 Villain Is Exactly Who You Think It Is — Cast Him!
The following will come as little surprise to The Flash fans who were paying attention during the last six episodes of Season 3: Barry Allen’s next adversary — once he finds his way out of the Speed Force prison, that is! — will be Clifford DeVoe aka The Thinker, sources tell TVLine. (Reps for the CW superhero series had no comment.)
Season 4 will thus mark the first time that the Crimson Comet will not clash with a sinister speedster — just as showrunner Andrew Kreisberg first revealed in March at PaleyFest: “Next season we’re not going to have a speedster [as the Big Bad].”
DeVoe’s eventual introduction was first hinted at during a March episode in which Abra Kadabra, an Earth-19 metahuman from the future, told Barry, “There’s Thawne, Zoom, DeVoe… but none of them hurt you like Savitar.” Then in last month’s season finale, Barry’s future time remnant known as Savitar said while surveying S.T.A.R. Labs, “This is where we came up with the cerebral inhibitor… to use against DeVoe.” When Barry asked about that name, Savitar shrugged, “You haven’t gotten there yet.” (Watch video below.)
In DC Comics lore, DeVoe is a legal eagle-turned-supervillain who wields technologically derived telekinesis and mind 
control — abilities that in the TV series’ narrative he perhaps acquired during the particle accelerator explosion. Across his assorted print incarnations, The Thinker has been the genius mastermind behind the works of other criminals, as well as a onetime recruit of the Suicide Squad.
Casting is now underway for a 40something actor to play what one might call “the fastest mind alive.” Who’s your pick to taunt Team Flash this fall?
Want more scoop on The Flash, or for any other show? Email InsideLine@tvline.com and your Q may be answered via Matt’s Inside Line.
How about Zeljko Ivanek?
Ooh, I second this.
He’s a series regular on Madam Secretary, so that seems unlikely.
Then we should go with Matt Frewer he seem likely to be available.
See last line (“40something”).
JAMES Spader
It only took 4 seasons for them to finally stop repeating the exact same story? Wow.
It’s crazy how few of Flash’s enemies in his rogue’s gallery actually have superspeed yet that’s all the TV show seems to want to do. It’s much more interesting when Flash has to overcome something totally different from his own powers instead of this constant story of “I have to be faster!!”.
It is about time. My wife has given up because it’s always the same (I think she gave up for good around the time of Grodd’s return). There are some villains it’s good to see back (eg, Trickster, Captain Cold) but many others where it just feels like retreading the same ground with nothing new.
Flash did a couple of things really well this season, like adding Julian. But for every good thing there were 5 steps back – like Jessie moving to be with Wally and then leaving three episodes later, or the four episode long cycle of meaningless engagement, breakup and engagement again.
idk if its just me but all that stuff just mention above about his abilities seems pretty badass
OK, but I just hope he didn’t get his powers from the particle accelerator explosion. I’m tired of hearing about it.
Well yeah, that and as seasons go on it increasingly strains suspension of disbelief that these meta humans conveniently wait in line for the arcs of previous villains to complete before showing up. Why is the Thinker just showing up now as the explosion is more and more distant? Can’t make Flashpoint every year, right?
They could be a result of that speed force storm in the finale
As every summer for the past few years I will repeat myself by saying: Tom Welling!!!
How much you want to bet they get lazy and make him be another alternate Wells?
Yeah. Watch them give him a mask and hype up some huge reveal that ends up boring us all again.
“This is where we came up with the cereal inhibitor… to use against DeVoe.”
Are evil Corn Flakes trying to take over the world? Has Tony the Tiger and Cap’n Crunch gone to the dark side?
Well played. And fixed. (My new desktop computer has a strange, aggressive algorithm for autocorrecting.)
Now if this were 1966 and Batman was on, a cereal inhibitor would be a great idea. On-screen sound effects like SNAP! CRACKLE! and POP! would be a natural fit!
John Simm. This show needs a fun, scenery chewing villain
Oooh, he’d be good! He was an amazing villain in Doctor Who. One of my all time favorite villains, actually – The Master.
yes!
YES YES YES brilliant
I think they might have to change his profession because they don’t want people to be complaining he is just a super powered version of Prometheus. And they can’t just rest on their laurels and have him be a scientist or a professor, they’ve done that too. All for an engineer because they are entitled to make Prison Break references even if Snart isn’t around.
Michael Rosenbaum. Idk. Glad it’s not another speedster.
Maybe he got his powers from the particle accelerator or maybe he got them from the speed force lightening storm that happened in the finale. They already demonstrated that a portion of the speed force in the form of the sorcerer’s stone would give others powers and that they weren’t all speedsters. Magenta was one of those given powers that way and she manipulated metal.
———
Is Zachary Levi busy?
I think he’s doing a show based on a book by Margaret Atwood.
It’s a 6 episode limited run: https://tvline.com/2016/07/22/zachary-levi-joins-alias-grace-netflix-cast/
That’s only a miniseries and it has already been filmed.
Have they specifically referred to Devoe being Male yet?
The quotes above don’t.
Just out of curiousity. Could open things up a little…
Yes, they are casting a male as Clifford. .
Okay. Some of these shows take liberties with that sort of thing to throw people off. I know the character was male in the comics.
At this point I’d just follow the usual formula:
A) are they available and not too “big” of a name for a CW show?
B)has their show just been cancelled?/pilot not been picked up?
C)have they worked with Berlanti before?
Especially given the previous castings of Victor Garber and Tom Cavanaugh. People like known quantities.
So I’d be looking at maybe Sam Jaeger or Josh Stewart. Both have worked on his shows before but I don’t know if they’re available. Stewart especially is probably busy given his IMDb page. But dang he could do the creepy thing well.
Josh Stewart, I would like to see that, good choice.
Two possibilities who would be in the right age range — Jamie Bamber (BSG, Law and Order UK) or his onetime lookalike castmate from the UK’s Horatio Hornblower movies from the late 1990s, Ioan Gruffudd (whose one season series from CBS currently airs on the CW Seed streaming service) Ioan and Jamie are both 43-44 years old.
Ioan was apart of the CW when he was part of Sarah Michelle Gellar’s one-and-done show “Ringer”. “Forever” was an ABC show
Thanks so much for the heads up! I’ve been wanting to rewatch this show and couldn’t find it on ABC or HULU.
I like TVLine’s suggestion of David Giuntoli from Grimm. Though, there would have to be a a scene with The Thinker and The Atom during the crossover next year. Ian Somerholder, Matt Davis, Steven McQueen, Michael Malarkey, Michael Trevino, or Zach Roerig all from TVD.
Agreed to Giuntoli…even though he’s a little younger than the age range in the casting notice, I agree that he’d be an excellent choice (and, since he moved to Portland while working on “Grimm”, it wouldn’t be *quite* as long of a commute to Vancouver, B.C…? OK, still kinda a journey).
Now, if only they could find a female Rogue for Elizabeth Tulloch to play for a couple episodes with him!
I vote for Giovanni Ribisi
Always a solid choice
I know Peter MacNicol is a bit on the older side, but I’m still going to throw him out there.
OK.
Ryan Philippe or Noah Wyle
Mr Phillippe is of course the star of USA Network’s “Shooter.”
Noah Wyle is on The Librarians but I’m not sure when or how often he films that show.
Good start. I hope he’s the big bad for 1 of several arcs & not the season’s.Hope the next thing we hear is how Barry is going to be hero & not team flash’s or Iris’s socket puppet. Or that the team will be rotating to fit the stories & not packed in like sardines into every ep.
They could do it pod format. So it Devoe manipulating different set of villains and then the final pod be them finally discovering the person behind the bad guys increasingly sophisticated schemes
NEIL PATRICK HARRIS
HECK YEAH!
Christopher Meloni.
Meloni has a new show on Syfy now. “Happy”. Probably not available.
Would’ve been interesting though.
For better known names, I would pick KevinMcKidd or Oded Fehr. For not quite as well known names, let’s go with Johann Urb, Jason Behr or Cam Gigandet.
David Giuntoli or the guy who played Constantine :D
Matt Ryan, who already played Constantine on Arrow 2 years ago
Thank you.
Hey Matt……what happened with the drama Giuntoli was filming, Mission Control?
Didnt get picked up. .
Russell Hornsby from Grimm. Can handle a more meaty role from his time on Lincoln heights but also can do humor
How about Bertie Carvel from Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell?
Eh, leave Barry in the Speedforce for a couple of episodes before letting him out.
Tom Welling or Michael Rosenbaum. :)
Tom Welling