“The Flash” is staging another homage to the '90s “Flash” series, bringing back Mark Hamill to reprise his role as James Jesse, aka Flash villain the Trickster.
The Trickster was the most memorable villain from the short-lived CBS “Flash” series, with Hamill taking the role so far in a Joker direction that he was unsurprisingly cast to voice the actual Joker through years of Batman and Justice League cartoons and video games.
The CW “Flash” already cast the CBS show's star, John Wesley Shipp, as father to Grant Gustin's Barry, but with Hamill – who will appear in the season's 17th episode, sometime in 2015 – the new show gets to have it both ways. Hamill will again play James Jesse, but with the twist of a new Trickster (presumably based on the one Geoff Johns introduced during his original run in “The Flash” comic) out there for Barry to stop. Per the character description:
“Mark Hamill returns in a brand new interpretation of James Jesse (aka The Trickster), a role he originated on the 90's 'Flash' series. In this new iteration, The Trickster is an anarchist terrorist con man serving a life sentence in Iron Heights who helps Barry (Grant Gustin) and Det. West (Jesse L. Martin) to foil the city-wide attacks of a wannabe Trickster eagerly following in the original's deadly footsteps. The episode will reunite him with John Wesley Shipp who went up against him as the original 'Flash' on the CBS version.”
“Flash” executive producer Andrew Kreisberg said, “Having Mark reprise his role as The Trickster was on our original wish list when we were planning our version of The Flash. Christmas and Chanukah came early for us this year when he said yes! We are beyond humbled and excited to have him joining us for another round of deadly trickery!”
(This will also give “Star Wars” fandom a glimpse of what kind of shape Hamill's been in of late for the filming of “The Force Awakens.”)
What does everybody else think? You excited to have Hamill back in this role?