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THE FLASH Star Keiynan Lonsdale Weighs in on Wally West Becoming Kid Flash

Wally West (Keiynan Lonsdale) has some big things coming up for him on The Flash.

Although he recently showed up on Joe (Jesse L. Martin) and Iris’ (Candice Patton) doorstep to get to know the family he only just learned existed, there’s much more in store for his character, as all DC Comics fans know. In the comics, Wally West eventually becomes a superhero in his own right: Kid Flash.

“Wally is such an iconic character, and it’s such an honor to get to play someone that has so much history,” Lonsdale tells Nerdist of taking on the important role. “Wally West has such a big fanbase and I hope they can connect with my version of Wally.”

Since Wally has such a legendary fate in store for him, Lonsdale reveals that he did take on this role in the hopes that he would eventually get to bring Kid Flash to life on The CW show.

“I definitely want to become Kid Flash on the show. That would be so amazing,” Lonsdale says. “Who doesn’t want to become a superhero? That would just be awesome and so much fun. I definitely had that on my mind, and I would imagine that’s where we’re going to get to go with this character. But I have no idea when that would happen. I think that’s definitely in store, one day. It’s really just a matter of when.”

And Lonsdale isn’t just being cagey to mislead fans; he truly doesn’t know where the producers are going to take Wally’s story.

The CW

“Everything has been kind of kept on the down-low, to be honest. And that’s been pretty exciting for me,” Lonsdale says. “Obviously I knew certain things about Wally, and through the audition I learned about that. But in terms of where we’re taking him in the future and what’s in store for him, I really don’t know. I think that’s cool, though. I do know, or I believe, that speed is going to come into the equation at some point.”

In the comic books, Kid Flash eventually takes over for Barry Allen (Grant Gustin) as the Flash. But Lonsdale isn’t sure that his character will be taking such a central role any time soon.

“I haven’t thought about that too much, just because in my mind, when I think of the TV show The Flash, I think of Barry Allen,” Lonsdale says. “It’s so early on that I just can’t imagine that happening. I really have no idea. I know that happens in the comic books and it’s kind of crazy to think that Wally West was the Flash for so long. It’s awesome. It’s just so cool. So just knowing that I get to bring this character to life in any capacity is what’s most exciting to me.”

And speaking of Barry, Lonsdale reveals that there’s going to be some complicated feelings between the two Flashes since Barry has been Joe’s adopted son his whole life. Now that Wally, Joe’s actual son, is in the picture, it’s going to cause some issues between him and Barry.

“There’s definitely going to be this underlying issue,” Lonsdale says. “It’s not something that Wally would ever admit, but he definitely feels like Barry is in his position as Joe’s son. It’s already difficult enough for him to put himself in this new family, but also to find that someone else is already in his place, it makes things more difficult. And also, with Barry being such a great guy and very kind, that doesn’t make things any easier. Wally really wants to dislike him. It will be a little bit of rivalry on Wally’s behalf, at least. It will be quite entertaining to watch.”

While Wally’s storyline directly involves the West family right now, Lonsdale hopes that he’ll get to work with other characters in the future.

“I’m sure that’s going to happen at some point,” Lonsdale says. “But at this point, he doesn’t know that Barry is the Flash. There are a lot of hurdles for him to get over in order for him to start to really connect with the STAR Labs team, or even for him to come into contact with Linda Park [Malese Jow]. There’s always the potential for that storyline but I have no idea when that would happen. At this point, he’s dealing with his family first. But I’m really excited to see if and when Wally finds out that Barry is the Flash. That will really shake things up in Wally’s head.”

Do you want to see Wally become Kid Flash on The Flash?

Images: The CW

The Flash airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. on The CW.

 

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