Batgirl is saving a spot on the shelf for The Flash movie. Warner Bros. is currently considering how best to move forward with the upcoming DC Extended Universe film in the wake of new allegations and arrest warrants against the film's lead star Ezra Miller.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Warner Bros. is preparing three different outcomes for the future of The Flash movie. One involves Miller seeking professional help and then giving "an interview at some point explaining their erratic behavior over the past few years." They would then do limited press for The Flash, which would still open in 2023. Another scenario would be that if Miller chooses to not seek out help, Warner Bros. would still release the film but not have Miller promote The Flash at all with the titular role recast in future DC projects. A final strategy, which is considered by the studio as "a last resort," would involve outright killing the movie if Miller's behavior doesn't improve. Since Miller appears in almost every scene, it would be too expensive to reshoot the film with a different actor. THR has noted that scrapping a "$200 million film would be an unprecedented move," but is not entirely out of the realm since Warner Bros. Discovery shelved the $90 million Batgirl film last month.
Miller has been at the forefront of several major controversies in 2022, with the latest involving them housing a mother and her three children at a cannabis farm with loose firearms in June. The actor was also reported to have spent the last few months driving around the United States, armed and wearing a bulletproof vest, believing they are being followed by the FBI and the Ku Klux Klan. They also face a felony burglary charge in an incident where they were allegedly caught on camera stealing from a Vermont home. New details surrounding Miller's time in Iceland have also surfaced, which suggested that the actor displayed cult-like behavior while living in the country in 2020.
Ezra Miller Is the Flash... For Now
Miller's first appearance in the DC Extended Universe as Barry Allen/The Flash was in 2016's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. They reprised the role in a small cameo that same year for David Ayer's Suicide Squad, followed by a larger role in 2017's Justice League (and the 2021 Snyder Cut). Miller again made a small cameo as The Flash in the Season 1 finale of Peacemaker alongside Jason Momoa's Aquaman in 2022. The Flash will mark the next (and possibly last) time fans will see Miller as the Scarlet Speedster.
The upcoming DCEU film will take inspiration from the comic book storyline Flashpoint and feature multiple versions of The Flash as well as both Ben Affleck and Michael Keaton's versions of Batman. Despite Miller's controversies, The Flash is reportedly "generating great buzz in its testing."
In addition to Miller, Affleck and Keaton, The Flash stars Michael Shannon, Ron Livingston, Kiersey Clemons, Antje Traue, Sasha Calle, Maribel Verdú, Temuera Morrison, Saoirse-Monica Jackson, Rudy Mancuso and Luke Brandon Field. At this time, The Flash is still scheduled to open in theaters on June 23, 2023.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter