And, know what? I’m supporting this move. Warner Bros are going all in with “The Flash.” New CEO David “The Destroyer” Zaslav could have pulled the plug on it, much like he did with “Batgirl,” but he knows he has a winner here. No need for a tax write-off.
Directed by Andrés Muschietti, I keep hearing very positive things about “The Flash,” which is said to be one of the better-directed DCEU movies. I was also told back in August that “The Flash” earned the highest test-score ratings in DCEU history. Warner Bros was ecstatic.
Our report was then emulated by Deadline who wrote about the incredible reception it received. That’s why there will likely be no more delays in regards to this movie. It’s very much a 2023 release, despite its budget having supposedly skyrocketed to nearly $300 million. In fact, it’s now been moved up a week to June 16, 2023.
Now it’s being reported by The Wrap that Warner Bros has locked a spot to premiere the first trailer during the Super Bowl in February. This is the first time they’ve done that in over 17 years. That’s how confident they are about this movie.
Zaslav and company have had star Ezra Miller, AKA The Flash, assaulting people around the world, left and right, but, supposedly, that doesn’t seem to matter much to Warners, as it shouldn’t, especially if the movie is this good. Audiences won’t care either.
Miller’s summer “adventures” are too many to list in just this article, but here goes: he choked a woman, was accused of grooming children, was arrested multiple times for punching people, there’s also an armed robbery incident .. oh, and he reportedly, and illegally, housed a mother and three young children on an unlicensed cannabis farm. I’m not even naming half the crimes he committed.
I assume Miller won’t be doing any junkets or interviews for the film. He’ll be placed very far away from any reporter. They’ll just let the movie do that talking.
“The Flash” will also be Michael Keaton’s big return as Batman, and he is said to play a very important role in the plot, appearing in more than half of the film’s 140 minutes. Keaton first played Batman/Bruce Wayne in Tim Burton’s 1989 blockbuster of the same name.
Along the way there are cameos from Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, and Jason Momoa. There is also a CGI-ed version of Christopher Reeve as Superman. Why does Reeve show up exactly? A big chunk of the plot has to do with Flash’s desire to change his past and bring back his mom with a space-time continuum — this has the Flash starting to see DC heroes from the past like Reeves, Adam West, Helen Slater and Linda Carter.
Of course, we all know the rule: take these reactions with a grain of salt rather than treating them as gospel. Still, I will say that the film tested like gangbusters earlier this year, and Lionsgate clearly has confidence.