Credit: Warner Bros.Another interesting development for The Flash (2023).
Even after James Gunn and Peter Safran were installed at DC Studios, DC and Warner Bros. continued to put an emphasis on The Flash. This emphasis often overlooked other projects as the studio continued to pour time, effort, energy, and resources into promotion, marketing, and the making of the film. All of this wouldn’t be too out of the ordinary, were it not for the fact that the star of the film had been involved with illegal and illicit activity and isn’t out of the woods yet.
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Since 2022 Ezra Miller has been embroiled in one legal scandal after another. The actor has been involved in multiple cases of assault, restraining orders, cult-like activity, harassment, and burglary, to which Miller pled guilty. Miller has stated an intent to seek help, and James Gunn pledged his support, but legal troubles certainly aren’t over for the star. It’s precisely for this reason that the MPAA rating for The Flash is a little more controversial than it would be for other movies.
Marvel fans will remember that Thor: Love and Thunder (2022) had “partial nudity” in a scene with Chris Hemsworth, but, to date, there haven’t been any charges or even accusations levied against Hemsworth. Miller, however, will be starring in a film with “partial nudity” while victims of assault, abuse, and grooming perpetrated by the star are still waiting for justice. So why is DC so dead set on releasing The Flash?
A studio won’t release a film unless they feel that it will, in some way or other, recoup the cost of making it. DC is likely banking on the return of Michael Keaton’s Bruce Wayne/Batman to bring in audiences, but that’s likely not the only reason. With The Flash being DC’s foray into the Multiverse, many have hypothesized that the film will be the movie to kick off the new DC Universe. The question that remains is: is the risk worth the reward?
By now, DC and Warner Bros. have already poured millions of dollars into The Flash, meaning that any sort of cancellation or amendment would set the relatively young studio back significantly. That being said, is it worth the potential money and start of the new DC Universe to start it off with a besmirched reputation? An asterisk on all future content that says, “made with money from a movie starring…”? DC has apparently decided that it is worth it.
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The Flash comes to theaters on June 16, 2023, and stars Ezra Miller as Barry Allen/The Flash, Sasha Calle as Kara Zor-El/Supergirl, Michael Shannon as General Zod, Ron Livingston as Henry Allen, and Michael Keaton as Bruce Wayne/Batman. The film will see Allen (Miller) traveling the Multiverse to save his mother, but instead, getting trapped and causing damage to the Multiverse itself.
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