Warner Bros. has finally given another release date for DC’s long-gestating ‘The Flash’ solo film: July 1, 2022. Ezra Miller (‘The Perks of Being a Wallflower,’ ‘Justice League’) is still set to star as the titular character.
Andy Muschietti will serve as director. He broke out with the blockbuster success ‘It,’ while the sequel ‘It: Chapter Two’ released this year. 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.’
In an interview with Fandango, when asked if his take on ‘The Flash’ would contain horror elements similar to the ‘It’ movies, Muschietti had this to say:
“An element of horror? I don’t think so. What captivated me about ‘The Flash’ is the human drama in it. The human feelings and emotions that play in the drama [of it]. It’s going to be fun, too. I can’t promise that there will be any horror [elements in it], really, but it’s a beautiful human story.”
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.
- John Francis Daley & Jonathan Goldstein (‘Game Night’) came aboard to write and direct, only to leave due to creative differences.
- Ezra Miller and Grant Morrison (‘Happy’) also tried their hand at a screenplay, with a “darker” take.
Now, the screenplay is from Christina Hodson, who 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.’
Meanwhile, Miller still has his commitment to the ongoing ‘Fantastic Beasts’ franchise. The third installment recently got two pushes in filming, and will now begin production spring 2020, specifically February. This has been part of the perpetual limbo ‘The Flash’ has been in for quite some time.
Lastly, the goal is to be in pre-production by January 2020, and filming later in the year (likely very late 2020). THR reaffirmed our report that filming was originally going to begin in late 2019.
‘The Flash’ is only up against Universal’s Untitled Illumination Film at the moment.