The Flash's solo movie pretty much defines what being stuck in developmental hell means. Given that it's part of the latest DC film slate, by now the studio should have had a firm grasp on the basics -- a plot, director and some semblance of a fleshed-out cast.

However, not only is this not the case, just eight months after retitling the film to Flashpoint, it seems that this title's been scrapped, leaving fans with that all-too-familiar feeling of being back to square one.

RELATED: The Flash’s Solo Movie Will Not Be Titled ‘Flashpoint’

The latest fluctuation in the movie's eve-changing status has a lot of folks asking a simple question: What's the hell is going on with The Flash? While fans' concerns are valid, there are signs that may well hint at the studio having a contingency plan, one that's more conventional and relevant to the current DCEU landscape. But before we dive into that, let's look at the entire timeline of The Flash's development, which clearly has way more downs that ups.

DC Comics Flash Flashpoint Reverse Flash

A lot of the instability surrounding The Flash has come from it failing to land and keep a director. It was only last month that Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley signed on; before that, well, it was pure turmoil. Phil Lord and Chris Miller initially wrote the movie's treatment, but they couldn't direct due to a scheduling conflict. In April 2016, with Zack Snyder already shaping Ezra Miller as Barry Allen/The Flash for 2017's Justice League, Seth Grahame-Smith came onboard to write and direct, but soon left due to creative differences. Rick Famuyima followed, himself quitting just six months later for the same reasons.

However, The Flash slowly kept trying to make up ground, with directors like Robert Zemeckis, Matthew Vaughn, Sam Raimi and, yes, even Ben Affleck being linked to the project. Lord and Miller, following their firing from Solo: A Star Wars Story, were even said to be circling back, only for Goldstein and Daley to eventually take the reins. The thing is, we still haven't really heard much from them and what they want to do with the Scarlet Speedster. Hopefully they break the ice soon, especially for those optimistic they can recapture the magic they showed as writers of Spider-Man: Homecoming.

RELATED: DCEU’s Flashpoint Directors Confirmed

This brings us to the film's plot. At this point, we should have at least a vague idea of what the story will be, but we really... don't. That said, despite the retitling, Borys Kit, whose story revealed the name change in the first place, suggests that The Flash may still follow Geoff Johns and Andy Kubert's Flashpoint storyline.

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In the comics, Barry traveled to the past to prevent his mother’s murder, only to create an alternate reality where he was no longer The Flash. In the process, he altered many iconic heroes and villains (shaping the Amazons and Atlanteans as genocidal enemies, Superman as a frail alien, Thomas Wayne as a murderous Batman, etc.) which then left him with the task of repairing the timeline.

While this is all fun and exciting, to explore it properly, the movie's scope would have to be just as big as, if not bigger than, Justice League. And considering the disappointing box office take from its first-ever DC team film, Warner Bros. may be reluctant to approve the budget necessary to do this storyline justice.

The villains linked to the film -- Captain Cold, Heatwave and Killer Frost -- lean towards the traditional tale of Flash battling his usual rogues in Central City, which would better suit a narrative about Barry honing his craft as a forensic scientist and crimefighter in the wake of Justice League. But with no main or supporting villains actually having been cast, it's still very much in question as to what approach the movie will take, especially as every villain that's been attached so far can fit into almost any Flash story conceivable.

As for casting on the whole, well, the only constant in this equation is Miller, who was relatively well-received in Justice League. The same can't be said for Kiersey Clemons (who Famuyima brought on after directing her in Dope) as Iris West. Her entire DCEU future is in doubt after she was cut from Justice League, leading to speculation that the character could be re-cast. Even Billy Crudup, who Snyder used as Barry's incarcerated father, isn't a lock to reprise his role, so the fact that the movie can't even firm up Barry's family is disconcerting, to say the least.

RELATED:A Flashpoint Film Is the Wrong Move For the DCEU

Taking all of that into consideration, Warner Bros.' backup plan could be to shape this movie as less a solo outing, and more a pseudo-Justice League sequel.  Ray Fisher's Cyborg, Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman and Affleck's Batman are all rumored for the project, and sure, they could fit into a Flashpoint adaptation, but that would cast these characters in a dark light. This would be unadvisable, because it'd be counterintuitive to the warmth and inspiration that the DCEU is trying to cultivate at the moment.

Teaming them up with the Flash against an army of rogues, though, would offer the chance to capitalize on the superhero essence of Patty Jenkins' Wonder Woman, thus lightening the tone of the DCEU further. More so, Warner Bros. would also have its chance to rectify what went wrong when it tried to merge Snyder and Joss Whedon's visions in Justice League, and finally deliver DC fans an ensemble film done right.

With so many heroes being mentioned presently, there's a chance that the movie could end up like Batman vs. Superman or Suicide Squad -- over-packed and necessarily convoluted. Ultimately, all we can do is hope that lessons have been learnt from past mistakes. As it stands though, it's anyone's guess as to the final direction this movie will take.