What Should WB Do With The Flash Movie?

[Jim Kelly]

Shows and movies that I could find that might come out before THE FLASH (tentative):

DC LEAGUE OF SUPER PETS [animated]--July 29, 2022
THE SANDMAN season 1--August 5, 2022
BLACK ADAM--October 21, 2022
SHAZAM! FURY OF THE GODS--December 16, 2022
BATGIRL--December ? 2022
HARLEY QUINN [animated] season 3--2022?
TITANS season 4--2022?
STARGIRL season 3--2022?
DOOM PATROL season 4--2022?
JUSTICE U season 1--2023?
AQUAMAN--March 17, 2023

They could push THE FLASH further off its current release date. In any event, by the time it does come out, lots of other stuff will have hit the big and small screen. And potentially, for good or ill, things will have been settled with Ezra Miller. So I think they should take a wait and see approach and in the meantime concentrate on these other projects, which could take some of the heat off of THE FLASH.

[Green Goblin of Sector 2814]

There's really nothing they can do EXCEPT for just move forward with a theatrical release with the film as is. It's too big of a film for it to go on HBO Max. They've spent a big chunk of change on it and need to recoup what they can.

But moving forward, they need to just recast Ezra Miller, move on and hope the stink of his controversy doesn't sink the franchise. And it's truly a shame because from everything I've been hearing, the movie itself is actually very good.

[Primal Slayer]

Release it. Film a new actor taking over in the end. Move on from Ezra.

[Vakanai]

Release it, as is, no reshooting the ending with a new actor because by god that would have everyone who does see it roll their eyes and groan very loudly. Just recast the role after the film is out. I just don't understand this new need some people have for an "in-universe" explanation for something as standard as a simple recasting. Just Cheadle/Ruffalo the role and move on.

[Lightning Rider]

At this point, they need to accept they won't make money back. The movie was too troubled, delayed too often, and now the actor is a problem.
Put it on HBO Max and use it as a tax writeoff. Cut Miller loose, hire someone new for the role, and start over.

Why? I don't think Miller's issues mean most people who would otherwise go and see the movie suddenly won't.

[Ascended]

Voted "Other."

I say release the film as intended. No limited press though, just hype the movie and not the star. Keep Ezra Miller away from the interview circuit (assuming they're not in jail or hiding out still?) and have Keaton and the other stars do the talk shows. But otherwise keep the art separate from the person. WB struggles enough with turning a quality profit on most of their DCEU films, and while it's possible that Miller's d-bag behavior could hurt the box office in a meaningful way, it's absolutely certain that a lowkey marketing campaign will damage the revenue stream.

So just release the movie, let the other stars talk about it in the media, and try to make whatever cash you can from the effort.

Then drop Miller like a bad habit and recast the role. This idea that Flash was gonna reboot the DCEU? Dump that too. Take what you can from the film, since it's finished and it's there and tons of time and money have already gone into it, but as soon as it's out of theaters forget it ever existed.

[Holt]

There's really nothing they can do EXCEPT for just move forward with a theatrical release with the film as is. It's too big of a film for it to go on HBO Max. They've spent a big chunk of change on it and need to recoup what they can.

Moving it straight to HBO Max also runs the risk of another Scarjo type situation if there are contracts involved that rely on certain payouts related to box office performance. Having to pay any penalty or legal fees involved would run up the price tag even higher, especially when there was similar drama over moving the entire theatrical slate to streaming last year.

[InfamousBG]

I said dump it on HBO Max but they wont do that. They will release it as is.

[Refrax5]

Why? I don't think Miller's issues mean most people who would otherwise go and see the movie suddenly won't.

Yeah, Miller isn't even that big of a name. This has gotten some publicity, but I think a lot of the general public is like, "Who?" Plus, Keaton returning as Batman is the big draw for a lot of people. Like I said, it sucks that Miller is being horrible in real life, but it'll make at least some money back in theaters and it's pretty important in establishing everything that comes after. And again, why punish the rest of the production for Miller's bad behavior?

Definitely they'll have to recast after the fact, but they might as well put it out at this point. It's supposedly pretty good, too.

[Ilan Preskovsky]

Voted "Other."

I say release the film as intended. No limited press though, just hype the movie and not the star. Keep Ezra Miller away from the interview circuit (assuming they're not in jail or hiding out still?) and have Keaton and the other stars do the talk shows. But otherwise keep the art separate from the person. WB struggles enough with turning a quality profit on most of their DCEU films, and while it's possible that Miller's d-bag behavior could hurt the box office in a meaningful way, it's absolutely certain that a lowkey marketing campaign will damage the revenue stream.

So just release the movie, let the other stars talk about it in the media, and try to make whatever cash you can from the effort.

Then drop Miller like a bad habit and recast the role. This idea that Flash was gonna reboot the DCEU? Dump that too. Take what you can from the film, since it's finished and it's there and tons of time and money have already gone into it, but as soon as it's out of theaters forget it ever existed.

Yeah, I'm kind of with you.

But really, I think the whole idea of a DCEU is pretty much over at this point. At least in a strict continuity sense. They can have different characters crossing over but just let each property basically stand alone. As for the Flash, they should just see how this does and either completely reboot it with a new actor afterwards or keep what works from this, dump the rest and continue from there. They could even go the Buffy route, where the series basically acknowledged the movie in a very general sense, but had no problem ignoring or changing the details of what exactly happened.

[skyvolt2000]

Yeah, I'm kind of with you.

But really, I think the whole idea of a DCEU is pretty much over at this point. At least in a strict continuity sense. They can have different characters crossing over but just let each property basically stand alone. As for the Flash, they should just see how this does and either completely reboot it with a new actor afterwards or keep what works from this, dump the rest and continue from there. They could even go the Buffy route, where the series basically acknowledged the movie in a very general sense, but had no problem ignoring or changing the details of what exactly happened.

Highlander did the same thing too.

Power Rangers did it as well since they could not use the first movie with the show. Then again they did that since they skipped over so many other ranger teams.

Clueless did it with its tv show.

Ewok movies, Droids and Ewok cartoon as well. Ewoks at least established everything happened before Return of the Jedi.

[superduperman]

The entire DC movie franchise needs an overhall. I say sideline all future movies until they can sit down and work out a way to establish their own version of the MCU. I know that all these actors are under contract but we're nearly ten years out from MOS and there's no functional continuity. Ten years out from the first Iron Man we were preparing for Endgame. This is ridiculous. Letting a director do their "vision" might work with something like Joker but you can't run a mainstream superhero universe that way. Sit down, clean house, come back in five years with a new plan.

[Kirk Brent]

The entire DC movie franchise needs an overhall. I say sideline all future movies until they can sit down and work out a way to establish their own version of the MCU. I know that all these actors are under contract but we're nearly ten years out from MOS and there's no functional continuity. Ten years out from the first Iron Man we were preparing for Endgame. This is ridiculous. Letting a director do their "vision" might work with something like Joker but you can't run a mainstream superhero universe that way. Sit down, clean house, come back in five years with a new plan.

This right here.

Dump "The Flash" on HBOMax and then just relaunch DC on film with a new film that has no ties to Christopher Nolan, David Goyer, or Zack Snyder.

The best bet would be to set the tone for a new DC film universe with a fun, inspiring, romantic, and action-packed Superman movie. Get Brad Bird to direct, maybe get Jeph Loeb and Morrison to write treatments. Give us a Superman film that makes us feel the way we did when we saw Captain America The First Avenger, which was more of a Superman movie than anything on the big screen since 2006. Just call it "Superman."

If done right, this movie would be huge. Wait for the sequel to drop references to the rest of the DCU. Since Superman should always be the first hero, we'd hear about an urban legend in Gotham City, a USAF pilot whose plane disappeared, a guy struck by lightning in Central City, and reports of a crashed UFO in Coast City. Make this a separate continuity from everything that's come before: no Snyderverse, no Donner, no Pattman. Hell, instead of the expected introductions, have Clark meet retired members of the JSA and build a rich backstory for potential spin-offs.

[Doctor Know]

The entire DC movie franchise needs an overhall. I say sideline all future movies until they can sit down and work out a way to establish their own version of the MCU. I know that all these actors are under contract but we're nearly ten years out from MOS and there's no functional continuity. Ten years out from the first Iron Man we were preparing for Endgame. This is ridiculous. Letting a director do their "vision" might work with something like Joker but you can't run a mainstream superhero universe that way. Sit down, clean house, come back in five years with a new plan.

This right here.

Dump "The Flash" on HBOMax and then just relaunch DC on film with a new film that has no ties to Christopher Nolan, David Goyer, or Zack Snyder.

The best bet would be to set the tone for a new DC film universe with a fun, inspiring, romantic, and action-packed Superman movie. Get Brad Bird to direct, maybe get Jeph Loeb and Morrison to write treatments. Give us a Superman film that makes us feel the way we did when we saw Captain America The First Avenger, which was more of a Superman movie than anything on the big screen since 2006. Just call it "Superman."

If done right, this movie would be huge. Wait for the sequel to drop references to the rest of the DCU. Since Superman should always be the first hero, we'd hear about an urban legend in Gotham City, a USAF pilot whose plane disappeared, a guy struck by lightning in Central City, and reports of a crashed UFO in Coast City. Make this a separate continuity from everything that's come before: no Snyderverse, no Donner, no Pattman. Hell, instead of the expected introductions, have Clark meet retired members of the JSA and build a rich backstory for potential spin-offs.

Wasn’t that why they dropped Snyder and hired JJ Abrams? JJ Abrams and Ta Neishi Coates period piece Black Superman movie. That was intended to be a new starting point for the shared universe after Flash. Abrams was given Superman, Justice League and Justice League Dark, and he’s now out the door at WB too. Abrams left Paramount to work for Disney. He turned down a deal with Apple to work for WB. And while he’s been with WB (since 2019), he’s been reportedly shopping around for a new studio deal. The Powers That Be put their wider shared universe on pause on the hopes of a JJ revival.

Say what you will about Snyder, but at least to trains ran on time when he was captain of the ship. The DC films have had no Captain since 2017. All the executives at WB know is that CBM make money, and they want as much of it as possible.

[Kirk Brent]

Say what you will about Snyder, but at least to trains ran on time when he was captain of the ship.

Yes, they ran on time. Ran right over the legacies of iconic modern myths and left them practically unrecognizable. I'd rather never see another DC film if "being on time" and making money is going to be more important than the integrity of a universe almost a century old and solid storytelling.