Shelving ‘The Flash’ Completely Not ‘Off the Table’
The fate of The Flash apparently rests in Ezra Miller’s hands.
The controversial star continues to generate one negative headline after another; a few days ago, they were charged with felony burglary in Vermont. Warner Bros. has consistently maintained that the movie will come out, despite Miller’s repeated run-ins with the law. But so far, Miller’s problems have not improved, and the movie is still almost a year away. That leaves a lot of uncertainty about what happens next.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, that’s left Warner Bros. preparing for three possible outcomes. The first: Miller seeks professional help and quickly gets their act together. The movie, which cost a reported $200 million, could still be released as scheduled, and Miller could even participate in the film’s publicity.
Options two: Miller’s personal issues continue, but Warner Bros. releases The Flash anyway. If that happens, odds are you won’t see Miller promoting the film in any way — and you almost certainly wouldn’t ever see Miller play the Flash again, as Warners would likely recast the role if The Flash ever gets a sequel following this extremely prolonged and difficult production.
The third option — which THR claims is not “off the table” but would be a “last resort”: Cancel the movie completely. That would reportedly happen if...
Things go from bad to worse, with the situation with Miller deteriorating. This would see Warners killing the movie outright, as it could not be reshot with a different actor. Miller plays multiple characters and is in almost every scene. Scrapping a $200 million film would be an unprecedented move.
It’s wild to think that there’s a chance, however slim, that a $200 million movie might be entirely scrapped. (It’s also wild to think that Miller is in so much of this movie that it’s impossible to replace him without junking the entire thing and starting over.)
The report suggests Miller might be taking some steps to get back in Warners’ good graces, saying that their mother “has accompanied the actor in recent days” and they “will seek professional help after returning home to their farm in Vermont.” Hopefully that does happen — for Miller’s sake, and for The Flash’s sake. Either way, it appears the entire situation is heading toward some kind of flashpoint.
For the moment, The Flash is still scheduled for release on June 23, 2023.