It makes perfect sense. Warner Bros. had success with Aquaman by putting horror director James Wan on that, and earlier this year, another horror director, David Sandberg, did a fine job with Shazam! So why not team filmmaker Andy Muschietti, whose adaptation of Stephen King’s It was a huge blockbuster for New Line and Warner Bros, with The Flash? This is what’s coming out of today’s The Hollywood Reporter as DC’s most difficult live action property gives it another go.
Christina Hodson, who wrote last year’s Bumblebee and next year’s Birds of Prey movie has been attached to write (rewrite?) the script with Muschietti’s sister and production partner Barbara Muschietti producing along with Michael Disco.
Warner Bros. has been trying to get this Flash movie off the ground for so long, sliding between one director after another, but apparently, actor Ezra Miller is still slated to play Barry Allen after originating the role in 2016’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. That’s a pretty big deal because that movie’s Batman, Ben Affleck, has already been replaced for The Batman.
The list of directors who has been attached to make this project happen and the direction the movie might take has changed so rapidly over the past ten years, it could make one’s head spin. Just a few of the names mentioned:
- Christopher Miller and Phil Lord from Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (they left the project to direct Solo apparently)
- John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein, who co-wrote Spider-Man: Homecoming, and directed the Vacation remake
- Dope writer/director Rick Famuyiwa
- DC Comics’ television savior Greg Berlanti
- The Dark Knight co-writer David Goyer
- Shawn Levy of the Night at the Museum movies
- Wedding Crashers director David Dobkin
- Robert Effin’ Zemeckis!
I’m sure I’m leaving out a few names but one of the running themes above is that most of those filmmakers are better known for their comedies. The Argentine Muschietti is a horror guy through and through, having adapted It after making Mama with producer Guillermo del Toro.
There’s also a lot of questions in the air about the tone and direction of a Flash movie. At one point, it was going to be more of a crime procedural and more recently the movie was going to be a take on Geoff Johns’ Flashpoint. Grant Gustin‘s The Flash has been a strong cornerstone of the CW’s television shows based on DC Comics properties but somehow porting the character to movies has been tougher.
So where does that leave us? Wonder Woman was a huge blockbuster hit for DC Entertainment. Aquaman was same. Shazam! probably could have done a little better? Another Batman movie is in the works, as well as a Wonder Woman sequel for next year. Margot Robbie‘s Harley Quinn returns for Birds of Prey and then in James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad. is it possible that Warner Bros. has finally gotten its shit together in terms of its DC Cinematic Universe after so many hurdles? Maybe… we’ll see.
It’s hard not to be skeptical at this point as we’ve seen filmmakers, cast members and production start dates come and go with very little progress. Maybe this one is going to work out, much like Aquaman and Shazam! both did.
Let us know in the comments what you think of the latest development.
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