The production for Warner Bros’ The Flash has been facing a lot of controversies since last year following Ezra Miller’s arrest. This catastrophic event that befell the actor yielded rumors across the Internet about the lead star’s replacement for the solo movie.
Fans seem to support the idea of giving the character of Barry Allen a new face, as many also offered their own fan cast for Miller’s replacement. After all the hullabaloos, The Flash ultimately hit theaters this month, although the franchise seems like it’s going to be in hot water for a long time.
The Flash Producers Refuted Ezra Miller Replacement Rumors
Barbara and Andy Muschietti spoke with MovieMaker and discussed the film and controversies surrounding the franchise. When the host asked if they ever felt like the movie production was “falling apart” due to Ezra Miller headlining the news for the wrong reasons, Barbara Muschietti responded:
“No, you know, as filmmakers, you have to put your head down and just do your work. Of course, we take that stuff very seriously, but we were focusing on the movie.”
Andy Muschietti said that the whole team believed in the success of the project from the first day, and the hardships they faced only strengthened their bond with each other:
“We really believed in the movie from the beginning. Over the course of two years, our confidence grew higher as the script was developed, as actors started falling into place, as the execution started to happen in production, and in the edit. Our love and confidence and trust of this movie only grew.”
Upon hearing the news about the lead star getting replaced, Barbara Muschietti said they found it an amusing rumor, and confirmed that no reshoots without Miller ever crossed their minds:
“When we started reading in the news that Ezra would be replaced, we laughed, because we didn’t know where it came from. That rumor definitely didn’t come from us or the studio.”
The producers have clarified that they wanted to work through the project and stick to their original plan with Miller still on board. The Flash is one of the last few projects under DCEU, preceding James Gunn and Peter Safran’s complete takeover of the enterprise.
Will Ezra Miller Return In The Upcoming The Flash Sequel?
Looking at the disastrous box office outcome for The Flash on its first weekend and the persisting issue regarding Ezra Miller, the chances of the actor reprising the role in the future look terribly slim. Although a report in October 2022 revealed that a script for the sequel has been written, Miller’s presence in the draft was not confirmed.
As per The Hollywood Reporter, The Flash 2 is penned by Aquaman writer David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick, and will heavily focus on Michael Keaton’s Batman and Sasha Calle’s Supergirl. The movie also needs to hit a target box office goal to warrant a sequel, but seeing it only made $70 million domestically on its weekend premiere and audience reception is quite underwhelming, it would need to work double time to justify its production budget of $220 million.
The Flash is now showing in theaters worldwide.
Sources: MovieMaker, THR
