The Flash Footage Of Ezra Miller From CinemaCon Has Fans All Saying The Same Thing
CinemaCon has taken over Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas for its showcase of the most hotly anticipated of Hollywood's upcoming projects. From Olivia Wilde's odd on-stage custody paper-serving incident to the first peek at footage of James Cameron's "Avatar: The Way of Water," plenty is happening as the movie industry continues to rebound from uneasiness that was cast by the COVID-19 pandemic. At the convention, Warner Bros. and DC Films reportedly showed off the future of the DC Extended Universe by finally releasing the first footage from the long-awaited Ezra Miller-helmed "The Flash" film (via Deadline).
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the movie features Barry Allen (Ezra Miller) traveling back in time to stop his mother's murder, creating timeline-altering events that have proven all the rage in the superhero blockbuster genre in recent years. It's also expected to feature two Batmen on screen, as Michael Keaton's Bruce Wayne returns from another timeline while Ben Affleck's Batman expects to take his final turn as the character. According to Deadline, "The Flash" is not expected in theaters until June 23, 2023.
Behind the scenes, though, recent news hasn't been great. The film's main star, Miller, has been making headlines for multiple reports of their arrests and other disorderly conduct in recent years. Rolling Stone even reported that Warner Bros. and DC agreed to pause development on any future projects involving Miller in the DC Extended Universe. And so, even though CinemaCon finally brought along new footage for "The Flash," it seems many fans don't have the film's story on their minds at the moment — at least, not where Miller is concerned.
The Flash fans on Reddit seem just about ready for DC to move on from Ezra Miller
Based on Deadline's reporting of what transpires in the brief trailer, there isn't much to grasp from its footage beyond the long-awaited return of Michael Keaton as Bruce Wayne aka Batman — and a glimpse at a young Superman — as Barry Allen (Ezra Miller) seemingly recruits Batman. So, without any new material to discuss, DC fans gathered on Reddit's r/movies community to discuss the premiere of "The Flash" footage at CinemaCon, and at this point, many of them appear united by one motive: dunking on Ezra Miller's legal troubles and the bizarrely long production process for "The Flash" standalone movie.
"WB deciding if they can change the title to BATMAN: FLASHPOINT," wrote one Redditor, joking that the studio may be better served turning this into a Batman-focused film starring Keaton. It's worth noting that even before Miller's recent troubles, most of the promotion for this film has focused on Keaton's Batman, rather than the titular scarlet speedster.
Another user responded to the much-discussed notion that Warner Bros. could drop Miller entirely if they get arrested again. "Grant Gustin gonna get CGI'd in," wrote u/ContinuumGuy, calling out the actor who plays the Flash on CW's long-running Arrowverse series featuring Barry Allen. Multiple Reddit users speculated that even if the film couldn't be reshot with another actor in Miller's place, that it seemed likely that they would be recast in a sequel.
"The DCU has evolved from poor MCU knockoff to slow-motion car wreck in under a decade,' wrote u/grinr. "What. A. Mess."