The Flash is slated to hit theaters in almost exactly a year. Filming is complete, normally DC and Warner, the studio behind the superhero blockbuster, would be building hype by now. Starring: Ezra Miller, identifying as a non-binary person, at center.
The Flash star Ezra Miller is wanted – and jokes about it
But Miller has been wanted for weeks on one of (very) many alleged misdemeanors, the LA Times reported. The US court authorities have so far tried in vain to serve him:her an injunction. Miller is said to be a minor “psychologically manipulated and intimidated and their safety endangered” have, so the accusation.
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Ezra Miller seems to think that’s funny and of course the jokes write themselves when the Flash star is on the run. The fastest man alive leaps through DC’s Multiverse dimensions in the upcoming film. “You can’t get me, I’m in another dimension” – is one of the posts that Miller made on Instagram before the account was deleted.
This is the current situation: The main star of a $200 million DC blockbuster goes into hiding a year before the film’s release to avoid legal action. And none of that seems to matter to Ezra Miller. Warner now faces an almost insoluble problem.
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The studio is desperate to gain control of the Ezra Miller situation. But that is difficult, because new allegations against the star are becoming known with alarming reliability.
The Flash disaster: Ezra Miller jeopardizes the most important DC film of the next few years
The Flash is a big project. It aims to be for DC what Spider-Man: No Way Home was for the Marvel Cinematic Universe: a nostalgic event blockbuster that draws viewers well beyond DC fandom boundaries. It is already known that the film will feature two former Batman actors Ben Affleck and Michael Keaton will show on one screen, the equivalent of ex-Spider-Men Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire. The multiverse makes it possible. The Flash should lead to the reboot DC Universe.
A huge budget is in the blockbuster, from which Warner is hoping for billions in success. But Warner doesn’t worry about actors divulging plot secrets. The studio has long had to ask itself fundamental questions. Can a blockbuster with such a discredited star even make it to the cinema? How should this film be promoted? Could Ezra Miller’s behavior damage the DC brand?
What is Warner doing with The Flash? Warner has these 4 bad options
The Flash disaster is all about damage control. In April, Warner held an emergency meeting to consider the Ezra Miller case. However, the avenues available to the company are all either expensive and/or risky. We went through each alternative.
The Flash Crisis Management Option 1: The Flash comes to the cinema, but nobody talks with and preferably about Ezra Miller
This is the simplest and as of now the most realistic variant that Warner has also enforced in Fantastic Beasts: Secrets of Dumbledore. In the Harry Potter spin-off, Miller plays the important character Credence Barebone. Then as now, a promotional phase with the star (with interviews and everything that goes with it) is unthinkable.
According to Variety inside sources, Warner wants the film to have the “give full blockbuster treatment”. But in this variant, the principle of hope rules. It presupposes that Miller avoids legal consequences for his actions before the start of the film and, above all, that no further allegations against the star become public.
“The hope is that scandal does not continue to growbefore the film is released and that everything turns out for the best”, according to a Deadline source about banging Warner. According to the site, Warner Miller is offering help to prevent further incidents.
If that doesn’t work, the following options become more relevant.
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The Flash Crisis Management Option 2: The Flash appears as a stream only
That would be the second level of escalation, which only ignites when the pressure on Warner increases due to broader public discussions of the Miller scandals. Which is not unlikely. But Warner can get a release from The Flash at in-house streaming service HBO Max actually not afford: The Flash has to come to the cinema to recoup its immense costs. Even worse would be…
The Flash Crisis Management Option 3: The film stays in the poison cupboard
That would be unique at this level, but this possibility is already being discussed, albeit not officially. What would have to happen for that? The situation around Miller would have to escalate to the point where the film would be released Caused reputational damage to Warner and the DC franchise. To make this extreme decision, Warner would have to weigh the expense of publishing versus the expense of not publishing. It would only be more expensive…
The Flash Crisis Management Option 4: Ezra Miller is replaced
Industry publications such as Variety speculate on this variant because the Ezra Miller case is reminiscent of the Kevin Spacey case. When allegations of sexual harassment against the actor became public in 2017, director Ridley Scott simply reshot the Kevin Spacey scenes in his film All the Money in the World starring Christopher Plummer.
But it’s not that simple with The Flash: According to Variety, Ezra Miller is in almost every scene. Replacing the star, for example with the actor from The Flash series, Grant Gustin, would be so complex that the film could be shot from scratch – this variant has not yet been discussed, by the way.
“Warner can’t win here”, says the Deadline inside source. And that’s what it looks like. The Flash, which is nothing short of DC’s key film, has been severely marred by its star’s behavior. The only question is how severe the impact will be.
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