James Gunn Says The Flash Is One Of The Best Superhero Movies He's Ever Seen, Ezra Miller's Future Up In The Air
The time has finally come for DC Studios Co-Chairmen and CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran to reveal their plans for DC going forward. /Film writer Jenna Busch attended a press event where the pair unveiled a whole new slate of DC movies and TV shows for the coming years, including new Superman and Supergirl movies and a True Detective-style Green Lantern show. And while it's far from the hard reboot many long-suffering DC fans were hoping for, Gunn and Safran's plan for a "long-term interconnected story" will mark a major shift for DC Studios.
"Chapter 1" of the new DC will be known as "Gods and Monsters," and will kick off with the Gunn-penned "Superman: Legacy," currently set for a July 11th, 2025 release. In the meantime, Gunn and Safran will have to navigate their way through vestiges of the Snyderverse and former DC Films President Walter Hamada's lingering influence. There are still four big movies left over from the pre-Gunn and Safran days, which Warner CEO David Zaslav has, as yet, not unceremoniously axed. But perhaps the most anticipated is the long-gestating Flash movie.
Currently set for a June 16, 2023 release "The Flash" was supposed to debut after "Justice League" way back in 2017 but has been plagued by a series of setbacks and ongoing off-screen problems with its star, Ezra Miller. Miller entered treatment in 2022 following a few run-ins with the law and some very serious grooming accusations. All of which left a large question mark looming over "The Flash" for some time. Now, with its release date finally approaching, director Andy Muschietti can at least rest safe in the knowledge that James Gunn is a big fan of his film.
'One of the best superhero movies I've seen'
While "The Flash" hasn't had the easiest production, it has at least tested very well with audiences, and sources close to /Film have had incredibly kind things to say about the movie — Miller's troubles notwithstanding. But while its star's future remains in question, "The Flash" seems to have really impressed Gunn, who at the press event praised it as "f****** amazing," adding, "It's truly one of the best superhero movies I've ever seen. Andy Muschietti did an amazing job. And I'm really excited for everybody to see it."
Peter Safran clarified that both he and Gunn have "had input" on the film but that there was "nothing [they] had to do," suggesting the movie was pretty much ready to go when the new Co-Chairmen and CEOs stepped into their DC Studios roles late last year. According to Gunn, both he and Safran are, "very close with Andy and Barbara [Muschietti, producer]" and that the director would be "doing some more stuff" for DC going forward.
Miller's future, however, is less certain. Asked about his place in the DCU going forward, Safran said:
"Let's see what happens. Ezra is fully committed to recovering right now. And we talk to them, we're in constant contact. But when the time is right we'll have the conversation with them and decide what's best for both them personally and also for us."
At this point, the accusations against Miller are serious enough that no one would blame Warner Bros. and DC Studios for parting ways with him. But the reality is that both will likely wait to see how "The Flash" performs at the box office before making any major decisions. That's showbiz, baby.
Michael Keaton's Batman will be a one and done for now
One (sort of) casualty of all this appears to be Michael Keaton's Batman, who is set to appear in "The Flash" as part of an alternate timeline visited by Miller's Barry Allen. Keaton hasn't suited up since 1992's "Batman Returns" and was at one point rumored to be taking on a kind of Tony Stark-esque mentorship role for the DCU going forward. But with Gunn and Safran coming on board and preparing to make major changes, all those big plans seem to have been scrapped.
When asked about Keaton's Batman during the press event, Gunn said, "The main thing that we're focusing on right now is creating the universe that people can kind of put their feet into," suggesting Keaton could show up in the future as part of a yet to be devised multiverse storyline, but that he wouldn't be a main part of the "Gods and Monsters" chapter.
Gunn also confirmed what we all knew by clarifying that both Henry Cavill and Ben Affleck were definitely not going to be back any time soon as Superman or Batman respectively. Affleck's Dark Knight was also supposed to be showing up in "The Flash" but it's unclear whether those scenes have been cut to accommodate Gunn and Safran's plans.
The future of The Flash
It's kind of bittersweet to hear Gunn confirm what we've all suspected — that "The Flash" is great. At one point, it was going to be a seminal moment in DC's cinematic saga. Now, the big reset seems to be coming with 2025's "Superman: Legacy," leaving "The Flash" as a bit of an anomaly on the road to constructing the new future of DC on film.
Which is a shame because it sounds like the film is genuinely great. Gunn is an unabashed comic book fan so his thinking the film is "f****** amazing" doesn't necessarily mean it is actually "f****** amazing." But the man knows a thing or two about superhero movies, and coupled with the excellent audience scores we've been hearing about, and the fact that Zaslav has allowed this $200 million blockbuster to go ahead during a time when he's looking for every tax break he can get, suggests we could indeed have, "one of the best superhero movies" on our hands.
But for what? Gunn is clearly very excited about his upcoming films and TV shows, none of which, aside from maybe the Supergirl movie, seem to have much to do with the events or characters in "The Flash." If the movie hits and is a breakout success, you might see some of that change, because, as we all know, in show business the business comes first. But for now it's all a bit weird to hear constant praise for a film designed as a momentous event in DC movie history that will seemingly have very little to do with DC movie narratives going forward. For now, we'll have to wait for those all-important box office figures to roll in.