Tag Archives: Movie

FLASH MOVIE Coming in 2018 with Ezra Miller

For the longest time, I wondered whether I’d rather see a Flash movie or a Flash TV show.

As plans for a Flash movie languished in development hell, I started noticing patterns in the big-budget Batman, Superman, X-Men, Spider-Man, and finally Avengers and Green Lantern films, and I realized I’d rather have a TV show. I’d sacrifice the spectacle and scope of a movie to get a new story every week for 20 weeks out of the year. I’d rather get the origin out of the way and get to see lots of different villains, instead of one movie with an origin story, then if it does well enough a second movie with two villains shoehorned in together, and a third movie with as many villains as they could cram in because between audience drop-off and the stars getting too expensive/old for the part, they know this is it until someone comes along to reboot the series.

So I was actually quite happy (though extremely cautious) when they announced a Flash TV series last summer instead of a movie. Now that TV show is here, we’re two episodes in and it seems to be a hit.

Today, Warner Bros. announced a new slate of films with 10 DC-inspired movies through 2020.

And for the first time ever, I don’t have to choose between a Flash movie or a TV show.

The schedule announced includes:

2016: Batman v. Superman and Suicide Squad.
2017: Wonder Woman — yes, Wonder Woman! — and Justice League
2018: Flash and Aquaman.
2019: Shazam and Justice League 2
2020: Cyborg and Green Lantern.

Newsarama speculates on a March 23, 2018 opening date based on previously-reserved dates.

Warner Bros. also announced that Ezra Miller will be playing the Flash, and confirmed Jason Momoa as Aquaman. I’m not familiar with Miller, but before anyone complains that he looks too young based on his IMDB headshot, keep in mind it was taken six years ago and the movie is scheduled for four years from now.

It’s been stated before that the DC cinematic and television universes will be separate, and casting different actors confirms it. (Unless they pull a fast one on us and it turns out he’s playing Bart.) That’s not unprecedented – Superman Returns came out during Smallville’s run, after all. And the more I think about it, it’s probably a good idea to let the TV show do what TV series do well — tell lots of stories, sometimes connected, sometimes stand-alone, with time to develop a wide cast of characters — and let the movies focus on the spectacle that works best on the big screen. (And based on the way Season 1 of S.H.I.E.L.D. had to spin its wheels until it could pull the big reveal without spoiling Captain America 2, allowing them to each go their own way without interference is probably best.)

I know I shouldn’t get too excited — I mean, they announced a Flash movie back in 2004 and it went through multiple scripts, writers and directors before stalling entirely — but after two episodes of the TV show, it’s hard not to feel optimistic about the Flash’s chances.

Rumor: Flash/Green Lantern Movie in the Works

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Flash and Green Lantern

Take this with a huge grain of salt: Hollywood columnist Nikki Finke reports on a slew of DC movies expected to be announced at Comic-Con next month to follow up on Batman vs. Superman, including a Justice League movie, a Wonder Woman solo film, and a Flash/Green Lantern (not Ryan Reynolds) team-up in 2017. (via The Beat)

Keep in mind that Warner Bros. was expected to announce a Flash movie last year, which didn’t happen, though a few weeks later they announced the TV series. And of course even if a movie really is in the works, there’s no guarantee it will actually get made, as a Flash movie has spent a full decade in development hell since being announced back in 2004.

It’s still not clear whether DC’s Man of Steel spinoffs will be taking place in the same universe as Arrow and The Flash, but wouldn’t it be cool for a Flash/Green Lantern team-up film to hit during the mid-season hiatus of Flash season three?

(Image: Flash & Green Lantern: The Brave and the Bold #1 cover by Barry Kitson.)

Flash TV/Movie Rumor Update: Script Review, Audition Tape

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Superhero Movie News has what purports to be a detailed-spoiler-filled review of the leaked Flash movie script by Michael Green & Marc Guggenheim, based on a story by Guggenheim, Green and Greg Berlanti. It’s interesting, particularly where reviewer Michael J. Petty compares it to the Green Lantern movie script by the same team…and to elements that have already worked their way into Arrow.

Speaking of the Arrowverse, a video surfaced briefly, claiming to be an audition tape for the role of Iris West in the Flash TV show pilot before it was taken down.

MTV analyses the video and the script review in extensive detail. (TBH, I’ve only skimmed it myself so far.) You’ll want to read the whole article at MTV, but beware…there are SPOILERS galore (for a movie that may or may not ever be made in that form).

Two things to consider:

Movie scripts go through many revisions before being produced, and the Flash film has been scrapped and restarted a number of times since it was announced nine years ago.
Auditions sometimes use early drafts and sometimes use scripts that are specific to the audition, and not intended to be filmed for the final product.

What Does “Man of Steel” Mean for a Flash Movie?

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Superman vs the Flash

With Man of Steel opening this week, it’s no secret that the future of DC Comics’ super-heroes on screen is tied to the success of the new Superman film. The question, of course, is what form might that future take? With the success of The Avengers, there’s been a lot of talk about a possible Justice League movie, but of course Marvel didn’t launch the Avengers on its own: They launched four solo films featuring different heroes, then brought them together. If “Man of Steel” does well, DC could jump straight into the team movie, or they could do a Marvel-style slow build — and Mike Ryan at Huffington Post suggests that Flash might be the ideal viewpoint character to tie them together.

DC has had a Flash movie officially in development for almost a decade now. Back in 2004, Warner Bros. announced David Goyer was writing a script and would direct. It’s since been through multiple directors and writers. Early treatments would feature both Wally West and Barry Allen, while later treatments focused exclusively on Barry Allen. The last real news came in 2010, when DC announced the Green Lantern script team would be writing a Flash film based on Geoff Johns’ work. Of course when the Green Lantern movie performed less than WB had hoped, everything non-Superman or Batman went on the back burner again. We’ve heard a few rumblings since then, but little else. Everything’s riding on “Man of Steel”: If it succeeds, we can count on more DC movies. If not, we can expect more years of development hell.

But if it does succeed… Continue reading →

Checking in on the Flash Movie

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By now you’ve probably heard that the Justice League movie is back on, with Will Beall (Gangster Squad, Castle) as the screenwriter. The Variety article name-checks The Flash script by Michael Green and Marc Guggenheim (the Green Lantern film), but says nothing about its status. Basically, nothing has changed (as far as an outsider can tell) since 2010.

You can read up on the history of the film’s years in development hell at Flash: Those Who Ride the Lightning, or check out past articles here at Speed Force.

Checking In: Flash Movie Not Dead Yet

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Normally I wouldn’t bother reporting non-news, but it’s been a while since we heard anything about Warner Bros. plans for a big-screen Flash movie. Blastr recently talked to Dan Mazeau (Wrath of the Titans), who told them that despite Green Lantern’s disappointing performance, DC is still planning to move ahead with more super-hero films outside the Superman/Batman worlds, and “The Flash is very high on the list.”

“It’s like anything, though,” he continued. “It has to come together with the right cast. It has to come together with the right director and sort of the right moment, and so they’re trying to push the rock up the hill … hopefully there will be some news soon, but right now I can’t really say anything else.”

The Flash has been in development hell for years, having first been announced way back in 2004 as a David Goyer film. Writers and directors have come and gone, the tone has gone from dark to light and back, and even the starring character has changed. Goyer’s script included both Barry Allen and Wally West, Mazeau’s featured Barry with nods to Wally fans, and the latest version, written by the Green Lantern screenwriting team, is entirely Barry Allen. You can read the whole sordid history over at Flash: Ride the Lightning.

(Via The Comic Reel at CBR)