In a huge turn of events, Warner Bros. is going in a completely different direction for its long-gestating ‘The Flash’ solo film. The studio is eyeing director Andy Muschietti and screenwriter Christina Hodson to tackle the movie.
Muschietti is broke out with the blockbuster success ‘It,’ with the sequel ‘It: Chapter Two’ releasing September 6th. He is also popular for Universal’s ‘Mama,’ starring Jessica Chastain. In the future, he will direct Warner Bros.’ ‘Attack on Titan’ and a remake of H.G. Wells’ ‘The Time Machine.’
Hodson recently wrote the Transformers spin-off/reboot/prequel film ‘Bumblebee,’ which got universal acclaim. Next up is Warner Bros. and DC’s ‘Birds of Prey,’ starring Margot Robbie, releasing February 7, 2020. She has also written the screenplay for another WB/DC film: ‘Batgirl.’
Ezra Miller (‘The Perks of Being a Wallflower,’ ‘Justice League’) ‘is still set to star as the titular character.
The script for the DCEU iteration of ‘The Flash’ has gone through many hands over the past several years. So let’s break it down:
- In the beginning, Phil Lord & Chris Miller (‘The Lego Movie’) did a story treatment for the film.
- Then, Seth Grahame-Smith (‘Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter’) took over to write and make his directorial debut.
- Later, Grahame-Smith was replaced by Rick Famuyiwa (‘Dope’), who signed on to direct and make some script revisions.
- Because of those revisions, Famuyiwa was fired due to “creative differences.” But wait, there’s more!
- Joby Harold (‘King Arthur: Legend of the Sword’) was hired to do a page-one rewrite, and the film became ‘Flashpoint.’
- Dan Mazeau (‘Wrath of the Titans’) also contributed to that version of the script at some point.
But now, the writer-director duo John Francis Daley & Jonathan Goldstein (‘Spider-Man: Homecoming,’ ‘Game Night’) have also left the project. They voluntarily exited the film, to move on and find new opportunities.
Further, Warner Bros. will not use either the “light” Daley & Goldstein script or the “darker” Miller and Grant Morrison (‘Happy!’) screenplay.
Additionally, Miller still has his commitment to the ongoing ‘Fantastic Beasts’ franchise. The third installment got two pushes in filming, and will now begin production spring 2020. This adds to the perpetual limbo ‘The Flash’ has been in for quite some time.
Lastly, the goal is to be in pre-production by January 2020. THR reaffirms our report that filming was going to begin late 2019.
Warner Bros. has not set a release date for ‘The Flash.’ But, it could arrive sometime in 2022 at the earliest.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter