The Flash could have been a great comic book movie. After Zack Snyder introduced the DCEU's Scarlet Speedster, filmmaker Andy Muschietti set out to put the hero back on track by pairing Barry Allen up with Michael Keaton's iconic Batman.
Unfortunately, the movie didn't work. Whether it was Ezra Miller's personal issues overshadowing the character, his zany performance/s, or a lot of bad CGI, The Flash failed to strike a chord with audiences. Even after decent, albeit mixed, reviews, it flopped with $271 million worldwide.
DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn heaped praise on the 2023 movie and later tapped Muschietti to helm the long-delayed The Brave and the Bold (a movie the director may or may not remain attached to in the DCU). However, even he seemed to realise the writing was on the wall for Miller, as the reshoots he oversaw left Barry stranded in an alternate timeline with George Clooney's Batman.
Miller hasn't starred in anything since The Flash was released over three years ago, and his career appears to have been completely derailed amid some pretty bizarre controversies.
During a recent interaction with a fan, the Justice League star was asked when The Flash 2 is happening and replied, "God only knows," before laughing and walking away. Needless to say, Miller clearly doesn't anticipate being asked to reprise the role.
While The Flash's many problems overshadowed the movie, there was a lot that did work. Sasha Calle's Supergirl, Muschietti's approach to Batman, and the portrayal of the Fastest Man Alive's powers were high points that, ultimately, were largely forgotten when edited clips of the hero putting a baby into a microwave oven went viral.
DC Studios has seemingly decided to shelve The Flash, and it's unclear when or where we'll see a new take on Barry Allen (or perhaps even Wally West). The People vs. Gorilla Grodd is a possibility, but it doesn't seem to be the plan right now unless Gunn has a huge surprise planned.
"A lot of people did not see it. But you know how things are these days, like people don’t see things, but they like to talk s*** about it, and they like to jump on bandwagons," Muschietti said last year. "They don’t really know. People are angry for reasons that are unrelated to these things. Of course, we had a publicity crisis with Ezra that is undeniable. And I’m not questioning that."
He continued, "But yeah, we love the movie. And actually, we really recommend it. This may seem immaterial now, but we also had so much support from the studio, really, at a point where they could have been like, you know, backing out because of all the issues we were having with publicity. And they went all in, and we all went all in."
You can see Miller's response to that question about The Flash 2 in the player below.