With the most recent controversy involving The Flash star Ezra Miller, Warner Bros. Discovery is reportedly considering its options, including scrapping the film.
Miller has been at the center of multiple controversies that have been publicly revealed. These incidents and alleged erratic behavior has not been doing The Flash film any favors. And with the current Warner Bros. Discovery upper management not being squeamish about delaying or outright canceling DC Extended Universe projects, there are no guarantees for The Flash.
What are the options Warner Bros. Discovery are reportedly weighing in to determine the fate of The Flash movie? Check out the details below.
Earlier controversies
Ezra Miller has been embattled with multiple controversies. From an altercation at a bar in Hawaii to complaints about the actor’s odd behavior with neighbors, the list of Miller’s negative press has grown in the past few years. There are two situations of particular interest, due to how the news about them broke publicly.
First, the actor was infamously involved in an apparent assault, choking a woman in Iceland in 2020 during the filming of Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore. Caught on video, the incident blew up internationally.
Some speculated that this incident was staged, but in June 2022, Variety reportedly spoke to the woman involved, as well as another woman in Iceland with a different, but similarly negative experience with Miller:
According to three sources, the woman had been speaking to Miller at the bar prior to the quarrel. She said she inquired about the actor’s feet — visible in flip-flops — after noticing some wounds, which Miller explained were battle scars from a fight.
Apparently, the woman was about to leave while saying to Miller that she could beat the actor in a fight. This led to Miller confronting the woman outside the bar. However, the woman clarified that she initially thought it was a prank, prior to Miller putting her in a choke hold:
I think it’s just fun and games — but then it wasn’t.
Later on, Miller was reported by Rolling Stone to be housing a young mother and her three children at their ranch in Stamford, Vt. Although the mother has gone on record to state that Miller was simply extending a kindness to her and her children as they are dealing with a domestic problem, the Rolling Stone investigation stated the ranch is an unlicensed cannabis farm. The report also added that there are firearms in the location.
New incident
In the most recent incident reported by the Vermont police, Miller had apparently been charged with felony burglary.
@xfire.com Warner Bros. Discovery close to cancelling The Flash#EzraMiller #TheFlash #WarnerBrosDiscovery
Based on said police report, Miller was caught on surveillance videos at Stamford, Vt. at 5:55 p.m. on May 1. The incident was brought up through a complaint of a possible burglary of a residence in the area. Aside from the surveillance videos, statements collected by the police indicate missing (and possibly stolen) bottles of alcohol. The police deemed these as sufficient to charge Miller with probable cause.
Miller has since been contacted and is cited to make an appearance at the Vermont Superior Court on September 26. It should be noted that Miller has not been found guilty of anything, as of this time. However, being connected with the previous and new controversies are hurting The Flash movie by the negative connotation with its lead star’s personal life.
Warner Bros. Discovery options
The Hollywood Reporter released an alleged insider report relating to Miller’s controversies and the potential decision of Warner Bros. Discovery with regard to The Flash film.
The three possible scenarios include Ezra Miller seeking professional help and doing limited press for #TheFlash, WBD recasting them for future projects or scrapping the $200 million project altogether https://t.co/CGIjPlymgL pic.twitter.com/bNX8m2iCb4
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) August 11, 2022
The first option the company is apparently considering is the actor doing limited marketing and press for The Flash. This would hinge on the potential intervention of Miller’s mother and involve Miller giving a statement that he would be seeking professional help, after giving an interview to explain the eccentric and controversial actions the actor has been taking. This would allow the company to push through with the 2023 release of The Flash with the least damage control involved.
The second possible option that Warner Bros. Discovery is considering based on the report is not involving Miller in any marketing and promotion. Should the previously mentioned scenario that Miller seeks professional help will not play out, Warner Bros. Discovery could release the film as scheduled. However, only the other members of the cast, such as Michael Keaton, Sasha Calle, and Ben Affleck, would be involved with the press tours and marketing push as the film gets closer.
The final potential option would be to completely shelve The Flash film. This would be an extreme final option, given that The Flash production has already cost upwards of $200 million. Yet, it is not a far-off scenario, as the scrapping of the Batgirl HBO Max movie (which cost $90 million) would indicate the current management is not above taking a big loss.
But unlike the aforementioned Batgirl movie, The Flash is already past the point of being considered as a tax write-off. Plus, early test screenings for the current cut of The Flash is seemingly doing better than those of Batgirl and Black Adam, with the latter two reported as both having poor test screening reviews. These factors may discourage this final choice to permanently cancel the movie.
Will Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav and other executives make the hard choice of cancelling The Flash? We will have to wait and see as the unprecedented saga of the DCEU continues. For now, The Flash is still expected to sprint into theaters internationally on June 23, 2023.
