 On September 13, 2013, Grant Gustin was chosen to portray Allen.In November 2013, it was announced that the third appearance of Allen on "Arrow" would no longer be a backdoor pilot, with the studio opting to make a traditional pilot instead.By doing so, it allowed the creative team to flesh out the Flash's story and his world on a bigger budget, instead of being constrained to incorporating "Arrow" characters within a backdoor pilot.