The Flash has had a complicated road toward the big screen. The movie — directed by It helmer Andy Muscietti — is slated to come out in June 2023 (having been delayed from its original November 2022 date), but its release has been put into question in recent months due to its main star, Ezra Miller, being the subject of multiple troubling allegations.
Deadline reported in June 2022 that the studio was pondering several options for The Flash's fate, which included putting it out in theaters as planned (without much promotion) and dropping it on HBO Max (fronting a considerable monetary loss). The article mentioned that Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zazlav was expected to reach a decision soon, and we now have an update.
In a report by Variety detailing accusations against Miller, the trade states that Warner Bros. intends to keep The Flash in its current 2023 release: "[It's] unclear whether [Miller] will continue to perform as the Scarlet Speedster in future projects, but Warner Bros. is still committed to releasing its $200 million-budgeted tentpole The Flash in theaters in June 2023."
This echoes a previous Variety report that stated WB wanted to move forward with the pic's theatrical run.
Throughout the past year, online spectators have proposed either putting The Flash on HBO Max or having a new actor take over the role of the Scarlet Speedster (similar to what was done with Kevin Spacey for 2017's All The Money in the World and Chris D'Elia for Netflix's Army of the Dead). These don't appear to be valid options for Warner Bros., however.
Variety reiterated that Barry Allen's standalone adventure was very expensive (Deadline put the film's budget at $200 million), which makes putting it on HBO Max, canceling its release or even going back into production with another star unfeasible scenarios. The latter's reportedly due to the fact that Miller is "in virtually every scene."
It's worth noting that the trade reported in June 2022 that The Flash had been "extraordinarily well received" by test audiences, which could theoretically be an added motivating factor for Warner Bros. to keep the project on the big screen.
As for the actor, Variety's sources said Miller "hopes" to talk about the accusations against them in the future, but they're taking time for themselves to "focus on their health and healing over the coming months."
The actor seemingly acknowledged said allegations earlier in 2022 in a series of Instagram Stories.
Regardless of the final fate of the film, Deadline stated that Ezra Miller is not part of Warner Bros.' plans for the DC Film Universe after The Flash.
The Flash is scheduled to be released on June 23, 2023.