‘The Flash’ Movie: What Does The Future Hold?
The Flash #TheFlash
View gallery Image Credit: Everett Collection
What is going to happen with The Flash? At this point and time, the future of what was supposed to be the launch of a massive franchise for Warner Bros. looks uncertain. Over the last year, the growing controversy around Ezra Miller, who stars in the titular role, has become overwhelmingly loud.
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The standalone Flash movie has been in the works for years. The future of the DC Extended Universe looked bright when The Flash finally got underway, with the superhero flick becoming one of the most highly-anticipated movies. Now, fans are wondering if the movie will even come to theaters at all. From the current release date to the Ezra Miller situation, HollywoodLife has all the latest about The Flash.
Ezra Miller as Barry Allen/The Flash. (Everett Collection) Is There A Future For The Flash Movie?
The Flash is currently in post-production, but the film has come up several times in the wake of Ezra’s arrests and controversies. Ezra, who identifies as non-binary and uses they/them pronouns, was arrested in March 2022 for disorderly conduct and harassment in Hawaii, according to USA Today. Two days later, a couple who was living with the actor at a hostel filed a restraining order against Ezra. The couple alleged Ezra threatened them and stole a passport and wallet. The restraining order was dropped in April.
Ezra was arrested again on suspicion of assault after allegedly throwing a chair at a woman in April 2022. The actor pleaded no contest to disorderly conduct and was ordered to pay a $500 fine. In a plea deal, prosecutors dropped the harassment charge and an unrelated traffic charge.
In June 2022, a couple filed for a protective order on behalf of their child, Tokata “Gibson” Iron Eyes. “Ezra uses violence, intimidation, threat of violence, fear, paranoia, delusions and drugs to hold sway over a young adolescent Tokata,” the parents said in court documents. “Ezra has brainwashed Tokata. Ezra Miller has ensured that Tokata is without a phone and has given her bankcard to another of his workers.”
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Gibson released a statement on Instagram denying their parents’ allegations against Ezra. “My father and his allegations hold no weight and are frankly transphobic and based in the notion that I am somehow incapable of coherent thought or opposing opinions to those of my own kindred worrying about my well being,” Gibson wrote on Instagram. “I am now aware of the severity of emotional and psychological manipulation I was made to endure while in my parents home.”
Ezra Miller at the Time 100 Next Gala in 2019. (Shutterstock)
Rolling Stone reported that a 25-year-old woman and her three young children have been living at Ezra’s Vermont farm, and sources are worried about the living arrangements. One source claimed that a 1-year-old child allegedly placed a loose bullet they found on the property in their mouth. Variety also reported that a former friend of Ezra’s accused them of harassment following an encounter at her Berlin apartment. When the woman told Ezra that they couldn’t smoke in her home, that “set them off.” The woman “I asked them to leave about 20 times, maybe more. They started insulting me. I’m a ‘transphobic piece of sh*t.’ I’m a ‘Nazi.’ It became so, so stressful for me. They were going around my house, looking at everything, touching everything, spreading tobacco leaves on the floor. It felt disgusting and very intrusive,” the woman alleged. Ezra left after the woman called the police.
After Ezra’s first arrested in March 2022, Warner Bros. and DC executives held an “emergency impromptu meeting” to discuss the actor’s future with the studio, Rolling Stone reported. According to a source, the “consensus in the room was to hit pause on any future projects involving Miller including possible appearances in the DC Extended Universe.”
The outlet reported that an insider claimed Ezra had “frequent meltdowns” during production on The Flash and said they were “losing it.” The source added, “Ezra would get a thought in [their] head and say, ‘I don’t know what I’m doing.’”
In June 2022, Deadline reported that the studio has “tried getting help” for Ezra as Warner Bros. Discover CEO David Zaslav weighs what to do about the actor and The Flash. “There is no winning in this for Warner Bros,” a studio source told the outlet. “This is an inherited problem for Zaslav. The hope is that the scandal will remain at a low level before the movie is released, and hope for the best to turn out.”
At the time, sources said that the studio would likely not keep Ezra in the role of The Flash in future DC films. However, Warner Bros. Discovery has yet to comment officially on the allegations. A lot was already riding on The Flash regarding the DC Extended Universe, and now the future for the DCEU looks more uncertain than ever.
When Is The Flash Release Date As Of Now?
The Flash is currently expected to be released on June 23, 2023. However, the release date could change depending on the path Warner Bros. decides to take regarding the film amidst the Ezra controversy. The Flash could stick to its schedule and be released in theaters, but the film could also shift to have a dual theater and HBO Max rollout.
The original release date was actually March 23, 2018. When Andy Muschietti signed on to direct The Flash, the film was given a new release date of July 1, 2022, followed by June 3, 2022. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, The Flash was initially delayed to November 4, 2022. The Flash’s release date was moved again to June 23, 2023, when Warner Bros. changed its release schedule again.
Filming began on April 19, 2021, in England. Production wrapped on October 18, 2021.
What Is The Flash Movie Supposed To Be About?
Warner Bros. hasn’t released an official synopsis for The Flash, but director Andy Muschietti has given his own rundown of the film. “It is a story of time travel: Flash travels back to try to save his mother. It is a spectacular action movie but it has a big heart,” he revealed on the Argentinian radio station Metro 95.1 in 2020. He also teased to ThatHashtagShow that The Flash will show a “different version of Flashpoint than you’re expecting.”
Ezra Miller with Ben Affleck and Gal Gadot. (Everett Collection)
The relationship between Barry and Ben Affleck’s Bruce Wayne will be a key element of The Flash. “He’s a very substantial part of the emotional impact of the movie. The interaction and relationship between Barry and Affleck’s Wayne will bring an emotional level that we haven’t seen before,” the director told Vanity Fair. “It’s Barry’s movie, it’s Barry’s story, but their characters are more related than we think. They both lost their mothers to murder, and that’s one of the emotional vessels of the movie. That’s where the Affleck Batman kicks in.”
With the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s multiverse taking over, Warner Bros. is trying to kickstart its own multiverse. The Flash movie is supposed to be the film that initiates the DC multiverse, connecting DC films and TV projects together. This is why we’re getting both Keaton and Affleck’s Batmans in the movie. The film is inspired by the DC Comics storyline Flashpoint, which features Barry finding himself in a different DC Universe.
The first teaser was revealed during DC FanDome in 2021 but has yet to be released publicly. Michael Keaton’s voice is heard asking The Flash why he wants to save this world. “You change the future and you change the past,” Keaton’s Batman says. The Flash, along with another Flash and Supergirl, show up in the Batcave. Batman walks up in his signature suit. “Are you in?” The Flash asks Batman.
Who Is The Creative Team?
Andy Muschietti is directing The Flash. He’s best known for directing It and It: Chapter Two, which were both juggernauts at the box office for Warner Bros. The screenplay was written by Christina Hodson, who notably wrote Bumblebee and Birds of Prey.
Who Is In The Remaining Cast?
Grant Gustin has played Barry Allen/The Flash in The CW series The Flash since 2014. The show was recently renewed for its ninth and final season. Ezra has appeared in the series as a version of The Flash during the show’s Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover event, which has sparked speculation that Grant may appear in The Flash movie. Grant will reportedly make a cameo in The Flash film, according to Illuminerdi. However, this has not been confirmed by Warner Bros.
Fan Demand For Elliot Page 
Elliot Page at the ‘Vanity Fair’ Oscars party. (Shutterstock)
In the wake of the controversy surrounding Ezra, fans began to call for Elliot Page to replace Ezra as Barry Allen/The Flash. “Just want to take this moment to say Elliot Page would make a great Barry Allen, in case there’s ever a need to, you know, cast a new Flash, for whatever reason,” TV editor Lissete Lanuza Sáenz tweeted, which has now been liked over 60,000 times.
Elliot currently stars as Viktor Hargreeves on the hit Netflix series The Umbrella Academy. The third season received critical acclaim for how it handled Viktor’s transition, reflecting Elliot’s real-life transition. The Oscar nominee, who uses he/they pronouns, publicly came out as transgender in December 2020.