DCEU Shouldn't Make a Flashpoint Movie

To say that Warner Bros.' solo Flash film starring Ezra Miller as Barry Allen has been stuck in developmental hell would be an understatement.

Announced in 2014, the movie lost the first two directors to sign on, with both Seth Grahame-Smith and Rick Famuyiwa departing the project in 2016. The film's title was changed to Flashpoint last year, and will adapt Geoff Johns and Andy Kubert's multi-dimensional event comic.

Flashpoint's inability to get off the ground more or less summarizes Warner Bros.' constant state of flux regarding the DC Extended Universe. At one point, rumors even popped up suggesting that Flashpoint could be axed if the studio failed to replicate Wonder Woman's success with Justice League.

However, the project has survived, and things appear to be progressing once more with Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley (Spider-Man: Homecoming, Game Night) coming on board as directors, and rumors even suggesting which Flash villains are being lined up to plague Miller's speedster.

Here's the thing, though -- in the wake of Justice League's disappointing performance, Flashpoint is the wrong movie for Warner Bros. to pin its hopes on to course correct the DCEU.

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Flashpoint involved Barry Allen going back in time to save his mother from the Reverse Flash, only to create an alternate reality where he was no longer The Flash. Given that Warner Bros. hasn't even gotten the DCEU as its main universe down properly, why even consider focusing on another reality, especially one as complex as the Flashpoint universe which drastically altered several recognizable heroes and villains?

The studio only just started winning fans over, with DCEU characters such as Batman (Ben Affleck) and Superman (Henry Cavill) finally being depicted as inspirational superheroes as of Justice League. However, there's still a way to go before fans really believe these characters are the beacons of hope they've read in comics for decades. That said, diving into the Flashpoint universe so soon would simply be regressive, especially if the film is to draw from or be inspired by certain key elements from the comics: Thomas Wayne as a murderous Batman, Superman as a frail imprisoned alien, and Wonder Woman's Amazons embroiled in a bloody war with Aquaman's Atlanteans.

Such a subversion of characters that are now being established would be a big risk and very counterintuitive to the heroic essence the DCEU is trying hard to carve out. As it stands, the DCEU is still seeking to perfect fundamentals with regards to the tone of its movies (evidenced by how fractured Justice League felt under Zack Snyder and Joss Whedon) and delivering consistently solid scripts, so the focus should be on nailing these basics down. The DCEU already caught a ton of flak for dark stories like Man of Steel, Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad. It makes sense, then, to play to the film audiences have responded almost universally positively to; namely, creating warm and virtuous stories a la Patty Jenkins' Wonder Woman, instead of going all doom and gloom... again.

The DCEU Is Rushing Another Ensemble Film

The reception to films like Suicide Squad, Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League was very lukewarm, both critically and financially, and if these are any indicators, Warner Bros. shouldn't be rushing into another ensemble film. Many fans have begged the studio to at least look at what Marvel Studios has done over the last 10 years, introducing heroes in solo films before throwing them all together in massive ensemble pieces like Avengers: Infinity War.

Flashpoint will likely feature a huge scope and cast. To do this right, the studio should be taking its time in order to not repeat the mistakes from Justice League, and also to ensure all characters are properly developed. Perhaps the biggest problem with rushing Flashpoint is that fans are barely emotionally connected to the main version of these characters as is, so how are they supposed to develop an affinity for their alternate versions? You have to love the first version of the hero if the alternate version is to make any sort of impact. A story featuring stark, twisted versions of Wonder Woman, Aquaman and even Cyborg (Ray Fisher), again, seems to work against what the studio is trying to achieve.

An ensemble film would also take away from Barry's personal story, as we've only now met him as a socially awkward and quippy geek. A solo film, whether origin-based or not, would allow us to really feel the pain of his mother's loss, and help to inform his eventual journey into a mature, full-fledged superhero. In something packed with so many faces as Flashpoint will be, chances are his personal journey will be relegated to a mere flashback, or be underplayed in terms of screen-time. Considering his mother's death is the plot driver that spurs Barry into his timeline-altering actions, this would be a shame.

Flashpoint is well and truly an ambitious initiative, but it's way too soon. The DCEU needs to work on its individual heroes in order to help audiences truly understand the characters before jumping into group films -- even if it were a Justice League sequel. Warner Bros. is attempting to run before it can walk, right now, and it may very well end up falling as a result.