When the long-troubled Flash movie finally goes into production next year, it's expected to leave behind the more dour tone of Man of Steel, Batman v Superman and Justice League.

Although we might have deduced that by Warner Bros.' choice of directors -- Game Night's Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley -- and by the more recent decision to drop Flashpoint and return to the original title of The Flash, The Hollywood Reporter seems to confirm that the film "has abandoned the somber themes it had been expected to tackle."

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What's more, the outlet contends that Goldstein and Daley, who were among the writers of Spider-Man: Homecoming, will use the 1985 sci-fi classic Back to the Future as a "touchstone." It's unclear, however, whether that's solely a reference to the tone or to residual time-travel elements from the film's time as Flashpoint.

Announced in 2014 among the original slate of films that became known as the DC Extended Universe, The Flash has encountered one obstacle after another in its development, passing from original director Seth Grahame-Smith to Rick Famuyiwa before finally arriving in March on the doorstep of Goldstein and Daley. During that time, the feature shifted from a solo outing for Ezra Miller's Barry Allen, one of the few standouts of Justice League, to an adaptation of the 2011 DC comic book crossover Flashpoint, believed to include appearances by Ray Fisher's Cyborg, Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman and Ben Affleck's Batman, among others.

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With the return to the original title, and the apparent adoption of a lighter tone, it's not known whether the other DCEU heroes will still play a roe.

We do know, however, that Miller will reprise his role as Barry Allen, joined by Billy Cruddup as Henry Allen, Kiersey Clemons, who was cut from Justice League, as Iris West.