As a dedicated DC fan who has been following The Flash (2023) project, I have witnessed the endless cycle of script rewrites and director changes over the past few years. It was a tiresome roller coaster ride, and at times, I found myself weary of the movie's progress, especially considering the setbacks within the DCEU and Zack Snyder's universe. There were moments when I even thought Warner Bros. should just cancel the project, as it seemed fans would lose all hope. However, every time I saw Ezra Miller being interviewed and asked about The Flash, his answers sparked a glimmer of hope. He compared the movie to Barry Allen himself, always arriving late but ultimately resolving the issues at hand.
Now, it's time to document the arduous journey of The Flash movie, putting an end to the torment I have endured for years.
⚡ 1 ⚡
The first iteration of The Flash project was greenlit in April 2015, with Warner Bros. bringing on Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, the directors of The Lego Movie (2014), to develop an independent Flash movie. Warner Bros. wanted to capture the lighthearted and joyful tone of "The Lego Movie" for The Flash, and these two directors penned the initial script. However, at that time, Warner Bros. had not confirmed whether Lord and Miller would also direct The Flash movie. Nonetheless, Warner Bros. announced that The Flash would hit theaters on March 23, 2018.
⚡ 2 ⚡
Later that year, Warner Bros. announced Seth Grahame-Smith, the writer of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (2016) and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (2012), as the director of The Flash. Grahame-Smith took over the project and made revisions to the previous script, resulting in the second version of The Flash script.
However, in April 2016, The Hollywood Reporter revealed that due to "creative differences," Grahame-Smith had left The Flash project, but Warner Bros. decided to retain his revised script. Interestingly, after parting ways with The Flash, Grahame-Smith continued to collaborate with DC, writing the script for The Lego Batman Movie (2017).
Despite the director's departure, The Flash was still scheduled for release on March 23, 2018.
⚡ 3 ⚡
Fortunately, Warner Bros. swiftly found a new director to take the helm of The Flash project.
In June 2016, according to The Hollywood Reporter, Warner Bros. was in talks with Rick Famuyiwa, the director of Dope (2015), a well-received comedy-drama about the coming-of-age of African-American teenagers in a Los Angeles neighborhood. Famuyiwa envisioned developing a Flash movie that focused on the "new generation, contemporary issues, and multiculturalism." He wrote the third version of The Flash script and personally participated in the casting process, selecting Kiersey Clemons as Iris West and Billy Crudup as Barry's father. Unfortunately, Famuyiwa only played Barry's father in Justice League (2017) and couldn't join The Flash standalone movie due to scheduling conflicts.
However, Famuyiwa soon departed from The Flash project. In October of the same year, Famuyiwa and Warner Bros. parted ways due to "creative differences." Some fans speculated that this might be due to the negative reception of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), prompting Warner Bros. to intervene and adjust the upcoming movies in the DCEU. Projects that were already in production, such as Suicide Squad (2016) and Wonder Woman (2017), underwent extensive script changes and reshoots. The Flash, which had not yet begun movieing, faced yet another script overhaul.
By this time, The Flash had already missed its original release date of March 16, 2018. Despite losing a director, Warner Bros. remained confident and didn't announce a new release date for The Flash.
⚡ 4 ⚡
In January 2017, Warner Bros. hired Joby Harold to write the fourth version of the script for The Flash. Harold had previously worked with Guy Ritchie on the script for King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (2017). Since the departure of the previous director, Rick Famuyiwa, the standalone Flash movie project had been put on hold, and Warner Bros. was looking for a fresh direction for the movie.
In May of the same year, media reports emerged that Warner Bros. was in talks with Robert Zemeckis, the director of Forrest Gump (1994) and Back to the Future (1985), to take over as the director of The Flash movie. Meanwhile, Joby Harold was working on the fourth version of the script.
However, Zemeckis had another movie in his hands, and the shooting schedule for The Flash had to be scheduled after that movie. Nonetheless, Zemeckis was not the only candidate for the director's chair of The Flash. Matthew Vaughn, the director of Kick-Ass (2010), X-Men: First Class (2011), and Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014), was also on Warner Bros.' list of potential directors.
There were also reports that Warner Bros. had discussions with Sam Raimi, the director of Spider-Man (2002), and Marc Webb, the director of The Amazing Spider-Man (2012), regarding directing The Flash. Warner Bros. had a clear vision for The Flash, aiming to emulate the success of the Spider-Man franchise. However, subsequent reports indicated that neither of the Spider-Man directors secured the position.
In June, media reports surfaced that Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, who had written the first version of the script for The Flash, were brought back by Warner Bros. to discuss the project again. At the time, they were working on the Han Solo project for Disney. Shortly afterward, the two directors released a statement announcing their departure from the creative team of the Star Wars spin-off due to creative differences. Therefore, they were also considered as potential directors for The Flash by Warner Bros.
Based on subsequent developments, it's clear that Joby Harold's script did not satisfy Warner Bros. The four rumored director candidates also fell through as a result.
By this time, The Flash was no longer able to meet its original release date of March 16, 2018, and Warner Bros. had not announced a new release date for the movie.
⚡ 5 ⚡
It wasn't until January 2018 that Warner Bros. finally found suitable directors to take on The Flash movie: John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein. The duo had previously worked as writers on Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) and later tried their hand at directing the comedy movie Game Night (2018). Warner Bros. hoped that their comedic sensibilities would bring a fresh tone to The Flash. Once again, new directors meant a new script, marking the fifth iteration of The Flash script.
There were rumors that Warner Bros. had approached Ben Affleck to direct The Flash, but he reportedly declined the offer (the authenticity of this information remains unknown). Meanwhile, Ezra Miller was busy preparing to movie Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018), and Warner Bros. hadn't announced a new release date for The Flash. In fact, it wasn't until Ezra completed movieing Fantastic Beasts: The Secret of Dumbledore (2022) that The Flash finally went into production, but that's a story for another time.
⚡ 6 ⚡
The sixth version of the script that followed might be the most incredible and intriguing one for fans.
In March 2019, according to THR, to secure the role of The Flash, Ezra Miller teamed up with comic book writer Grant Morrison to rewrite a version of The Flash script. Grant Morrison is known for his works such as "All-Star Superman," "Arkham Asylum," and "JLA: Justice League of America," and he has also written storylines for The Flash comics.
Prior to this, John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein had already completed a lighter-toned version of The Flash script, continuing their comedic style from their previous work on Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) and Game Night (2018). Warner Bros. wanted The Flash to be a lighthearted and fun spectacle, as seen in the successful box office performances of Aquaman (2018) and Shazam! (2019).
However, it was said that Ezra wanted a darker version, and negotiations for a compromise had been ongoing since 2018. Eventually, Ezra took the initiative to try writing the script himself and reached out to Grant Morrison for collaboration, which Warner Bros. agreed to. It was a daring attempt since it's rare for an actor to invest so deeply in a character and personally engage in scriptwriting to secure their role. Furthermore, if Warner Bros. wasn't satisfied with Ezra's script, he might have had to say goodbye to The Flash. Insiders revealed that Ezra's contract to portray The Flash would expire in May of that year.
In 2020, during an interview, Morrison talked about the version of The Flash script he co-wrote with Ezra. "I think we created a fantastic Flash story. We wrote it at super-speed, just like The Flash, because Warner Bros. gave us a tight deadline, but we did a great job." Morrison added that their script was more like a "Back to the Future" story than a traditional superhero movie. He clarified that he and Ezra didn't consider it a "dark version." "I mean, there are dark elements in our story, and they (Warner Bros.) wanted us to write a script based on the 'Flashpoint' comics, but we wanted to expand on that. So, our script is more like a great sci-fi movie."
In 2022, during an interview with Rolling Stone, Morrison once again mentioned their collaboration with Ezra on the script: "As far as I know, Ezra wasn't entirely satisfied with the script at the time, so he brought a compilation of ideas to Scotland to meet with me. The two of us spent the whole day together, creating this script. Warner Bros. gave us only two weeks, and we had to work like The Flash." The final result they produced didn't meet Warner Bros.' expectations. It didn't introduce other characters, didn't involve a multiverse, and wasn't developed as a series of movies. It was solely focused on The Flash's story, but both of them still received compensation for it.
⚡ 7 Finally... ⚡
Although Warner Bros. didn't use the script written by Ezra and Morrison, it's evident that Warner Bros. chose Ezra over the two comedy directors. Thus, Warner Bros. embarked on another long search for a director for The Flash.
In July 2019, THR reported that Warner Bros. was in talks with Andy Muschietti, the director of It (2017), to helm The Flash movie, with his sister Barbara Muschietti as a producer. Meanwhile, Warner Bros. ceased the development of the script written by Ezra Miller and Grant Morrison and hired Christina Hodson, the screenwriter of Bumblebee (2018) and Birds of Prey: And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn (2020), to rewrite another version of the script. This became the seventh iteration of The Flash script, but fortunately, it was the final one.
After several schedule changes, originally slated for July 1, 2022, then moved to June 3, 2022, then November 4, 2022, and later to June 23, 2023, The Flash is finally set to be released on June 16, 2023. With the completion of movieing in October 2021, The Flash project finally found its resolution.
After organizing the timeline of eight long years, to be honest, I wouldn't be surprised if this project ultimately failed. Instead, the current buzz around it is quite unexpected.
Having witnessed the script being rewritten almost every year, as a fan who has been following this movie, I am exhausted. I wonder how Ezra, as one of the creators, feels about it. I haven't seen any actor invest eight years of their time in a movie that has been repeatedly developed and overturned. But throughout these years of interviews, it is evident that Ezra has always been enthusiastic and loyal to this project. Even during chaotic management within DC and when the project seemed hopeless, he actively approached Morrison to write the script and push the movie's development. During the promotion period for Fantastic Beasts 2, when asked about the progress of The Flash project, Ezra's response was that the previous changes were due to the creators' belief that the story wasn't good enough. They wanted to deliver the best Flash movie as a gift to the fans who had been waiting for years.
Based on current media reviews, this is indeed the best Flash movie. It's well-deserved recognition for Ezra Miller to receive praise through this movie.
Are you looking forward to The Flash? Follow me, and I will bring you more excitement and movie reviews after The Flash's release.
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