‘The Flash’: Warner Bros. Weighing Options For Troubled Star Ezra Miller
The fate of the upcoming The Flash movie hangs in the balance as star Ezra Miller continues to make headlines for their controversial behavior and various arrests.
Per The Hollywood Reporter, Warner Bros. was hoping that they’d be able to dodge the headlines surrounding Miller due to their big-budget ($200 million) film that isn’t scheduled to hit theaters until June of next year. Just this week, the We Need To Talk About Kevin actor was charged with a felony burglary. On top of that, Vermont’s child services department is attempting to locate a 25-year-old mother and her three children who have allegedly been residing at Miller’s farm in the state.
A source with knowledge of the situation says the studio appears to be preparing for three possible scenarios: First, 29-year-old Miller, whose mother has accompanied the actor in recent days, will supposedly seek professional help. If that happens, Miller could give an interview explaining their erratic behavior over the past few years. The actor could then do limited press for The Flash, which would open in cinemas as planned.
The second possibility is that the film will be released even if Miller doesn’t seek help, but they won’t be involved in the marketing and publicity on top of having the Flash character recast in future projects.
The third scenario considers Miller’s behavior continuing on the path of erratic and violent, leaving Warners to dead the film completely, as Miller is in nearly every scene. Earlier this month, Warner Bros. shelved Batgirl, a $90 million movie made for HBO Max. Unlike The Flash, there was no individual controversy involved.
Miller was cast as the Flash in 2014 and the development process has been long, with multiple directors coming and going over the years until Andy Muschietti took over. The film also stars Michael Keaton, back as Batman for the first time in 30 years, and Ben Affleck as a different version of Batman. Miller began their time as the Flash with cameos in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad, both released in 2016, before having a main role in Justice League a year later.
One upcoming project has already distanced itself from Miller: the Salvador Dali Biopic Daliland left Miller out of its press release in an announcement about its debut at the Toronto Film Festival. The actor plays a young version of Dali in the project, which stars Ben Kingsley as an older version.
