New Flash Options for Warner Bros. Discovery

Movies

What is David Zaslav to do with Ezra Miller? According to one of The Hollywood Reporter’s sources, Warner Bros. Discovery is re-examining its options as the Miller nightmare continues to get worse. Recently, Miller – who plays Barry Allen/The Flash in the DC movies – was charged with felony burglary in Stamford, Connecticut. Well, it’s still not over; according to Rolling Stone, Vermont State Police have been trying to find the woman and her three children who’d been residing at Miller’s farm in the state. They’re trying to take the kids from the woman’s custody (and if the conditions and witness statements are true, thank God), but they can’t find them, and the authorities suspect Miller is trying to hide them. So, faced with a situation that doesn’t look like it’ll get better anytime soon, Warner Bros. Discovery is said the be considering three options, which are mostly different from the three they came up with two months ago.

1. If Miller gives a public explanation for his actions and agrees to get professional help for his “problems,” they will release The Flash and allow Miller to do some limited publicity for the film.
2. If Miller doesn’t make any effort to get help and/or explain himself, they’ll release The Flash but keep Miller as far away from the publicity tour as possible.
3. If the situation with Miller gets even worse, they may just shelve The Flash as they did with Batgirl.

The possibility of reshoots is said to be completely off the table, as Miller is in too much of the movie and plays multiple characters – which almost certainly means multiple versions of Barry Allen from different universes – and the cost would be too great. So it’s either the version they have or nothing. And The Hollywood Reporter reminds us that test screenings are said to be highly positive, and Zaslav has made clear that he has faith in the movie itself. Miller is the entire problem here.

I don’t see option one happening. Miller seems to be completely out of his mind, and his behavior is said to get violent as soon as anyone contradicts him. And if you think scuttling a movie with a Latina lead is bad optics, how is it going to look when Warner Bros. pats someone accused of grooming children and assaulting people on the back and asks people to see him as a virtuous superhero? The third option (which is also the title of a good book by Vince Flynn) would be a huge blow for a movie studio already on the ropes from a string of flops and abandoned projects. I think option two is the most likely outcome, and this is what I’ve been predicting for a while: Michael Keaton will be the face of the movie as far as the marketing is concerned, and the advertising for The Flash will be all about Batman. This would be smart because it not only removes Miller from the public’s perception of the film, but it supercharges the nostalgia factor of seeing a beloved actor/character pairing again, and it reminds everyone of the Batmania craze of 1989. I don’t know if they’d go this far, but imagine them retitling the movie; it’s almost a shame that Batman Returns is taken. If there are reshoots, they’ll probably be to beef up Batman’s role.

Which option do you think Warner Bros. Discovery will use? Can Ezra Miller’s stain be blocked out by the Shadow of the Bat? Is Grant Gustin clearing room in his safe for the cash they offer him once this movie is released and Zaslav can be rid of Miller for good? Let us know in the comments, and stay tuned to Geeks + Gamers for more DC trials and tribulations!