Warner Bros. is not going to throw away a movie that’s its Spider-Verse, its No Way Home, and its Multiverse of Madness rolled into one. That movie is DC’s The Flash, directed by Andy Muschietti and starring Ezra Miller. It’s widely expected to be Warner Bros.’ answer to the mega-popular Marvel multiverse movies, with appearances by Supergirl and multiple Batmen — but in the past few months, things haven’t gone The Flash’s way.
In that time, and even earlier, the film’s star, Ezra Miller, has been in the news for all the wrong reasons. Recently, they’ve been accused of abuse and in trouble with authorities, which resulted in the star largely being sidelined for promotion of their most recent film, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore. There’s also a pattern of this type of behaviour going back a few years when Miller reportedly choked a fan. However, unlike in Fantastic Beasts, Miller is the star of The Flash. There’s no hiding them. And so, people have been wondering, what will the studio do with this hugely important movie? According to a new report in Variety, nothing at all. The studio is moving ahead with the film as planned.
Usually, a movie moving ahead as scheduled usually isn’t newsworthy. That’s what happens on basically every single movie. But The Flash is an exception. Miller’s troubles have been very messy, very disturbing, and very public so fans speculated about ways the studio could potentially pivot away from them. A recasting? CG replacement? The list of theories is endless but, according to the report, pointless.
“Barring unforeseen developments, sources say, Warners is barreling ahead with intention to give the superhero film the full blockbuster treatment,” the piece reads. “The Flash simply cost too much money to scrap the project entirely and it likely will not generate the revenues needed to turn a profit without playing in theatres.” Gizmodo contacted a source inside Warner Bros. about the claims in the article and they were neither confirmed or denied.
The piece also states the film has “has been extraordinarily well-received in early test screenings” and that “the way the studio sees it, The Flash is more than a standard superhero origin story.” Meaning that, hypothetically, because it opens up the DC multiverse, it would allow for a bunch of other movies, spinoffs, etc. So there’s more riding on it than a traditional superhero release.
All of which makes it sound like, if Miller keeps their head down in the next year, The Flash will be flashing into theatres as planned. But June 2023 is a long time way. “Though Miller’s behaviour could certainly force Warners to make The Flash a one-and-done project, it’s not intended to be a one-off adventure,” the piece says. “Despite it all, Warner Bros. remains enthusiastic about The Flash, believing the film to be one of DC’s strongest theatrical efforts.” We certainly hope so
Read more over at Variety. The Flash, co-starring Michael Keaton and Ben Affleck, is scheduled for release on June 23, 2023.
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