It’s a battle for the soul of the DC Extended Universe! According to The Hollywood Reporter, star Ezra Miller (Justice League, Fantastic Beasts franchise) has been clashing with writer/directors John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein (Game Night, Spider-Man: Homecoming) over their creative vision for The Flash solo movie. The filmmakers want a lighter take, whereas Miller wants to go a darker route. To settle the conflict, Warner Bros. has hired Miller and superstar comics scribe Grant Morrison (The Invisibles, JLA, Happy!) to pen a rewrite of the script, though it is unclear if it is still based on the comics storyline “Flashpoint.”
Despite a bad run of grimdark films, this could actually be the kind of thing the DCEU needs. After all, not EVERY superhero movie can be light and fun, with even Marvel going the darker route on films like Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War. Miller is reportedly “deeply committed” to the character, and had been working with the directors on compromises until recently. If the studio likes Miller and Morrison’s take it could be a deciding factor in keeping him on. If not, the actor could vacate the role when his holding deal for the film expires in May. For DC Films replacing actors has been the norm of late, having officially given the boot to Ben Affleck as Batman and Will Smith as Deadshot, and reportedly Henry Cavill as Superman as well.
If this all sounds crazy, the idea of a lead actor taking charge of scripting duties on a superhero film is not new at all. Christopher Reeve penned the story for Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, Edward Norton co-wrote The Incredible Hulk under the pseudonym Edward Harrison, Paul Rudd co-wrote both Ant-Man and Ant-Man and the Wasp, and recently Ryan Reynolds co-penned the hugely successful Deadpool 2. Ben Affleck attempted to co-write a screenplay for DC’s forthcoming The Batman with the intent to direct, but ultimately abandoned the project as both director and star.
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“Nothing is ever certain in this world, but as certain as things get, we’re making a f***ing crazy-dope Flash movie,” Miller told Playboy back in November. “It’s one of my great life dreams, and just the fact that we’re on the way—anyone who knows about Barry Allen knows he may arrive late, very late, but once he gets there, it’s all solved. We have to trust.”
A Flash movie set in the DCEU has been in development since at least 2015. The project has seen directors come and go (including Seth Grahame-Smith and Rick Famuyiwa) and several changes to the screenplay. At one point, the film was said to be based on the Flashpoint story arc from the comics. But perhaps because The CW series beat them to it, it’s not clear if this is still the plan.
What do you think of Ezra Miller and Grant Morrison rewriting The Flash? Share your thoughts in the comment section below!
