Update: August 20, 2020
Ben Affleck to Return as Bruce Wayne/Batman in THE FLASH Movie in 2022
Batman forever strives for a chance to set things right. That may finally happen with Ben Affleck’s version of the crimefighter. The
Argo director’s brooding Dark Knight is coming back for one more movie, with Affleck agreeing to return as Bruce Wayne in the upcoming big-screen version of
The Flash, Vanity Fair has learned.
This does not disrupt
The Batman film starring Robert Pattinson, who remains the future of the franchise.
The
Flash movie, which is planned for release in summer 2022, will feature fast-moving hyper-hero Barry Allen, played by Ezra Miller, breaking the bonds of physics to crash into various parallel dimensions, where he’ll encounter slightly different versions of DC’s classic heroes. It’s an adaptation of DC’s 2011
Flashpoint series of comic book crossovers, directed by Andy Muschietti, the filmmaker behind the recent adaptations of Stephen King’s
It and
It Chapter Two.
Affleck got the script at the end of last week and agreed this week to join the project.
Affleck won’t be the only Batman making a comeback; a few more of the alternate-dimension heroes who turn up in the
Flash movie will be figures we’ve seen before. Michael Keaton’s Batman from the 1989 Tim Burton film is also set to appear in what Muschietti said was a “substantial” part.
There's another reason The Flash needed the character affectionately known as Batfleck. In DC’s movie universe, Affleck’s gray-templed Bruce Wayne is the one Ezra's Flash would consider “the original Batman,” the one he has already fought alongside in the previous Zack Snyder films.
Muschietti said it wouldn’t work as well for him to venture into the company of other Batmen without having Affleck as the starting point. “He’s the baseline. He’s part of that unaltered state before we jump into Barry’s adventure,” the director said. “There's a familiarity there.”
Barbara Muschietti, the producer of
The Flash (and sister and longtime collaborator of the director), told
Vanity Fair she had worried this might make him reluctant to return at all. “There have been some all sorts of stories and things he said himself about having a very hard time playing Batman, and it had been difficult for him,” she said. “I think it was more about a difficult time in his life. When we approached him, he’s now in a very different time in his life. He was very open to it, which was a bit of a surprise to us. It was a question mark.”
“We are all human and go through great times in our lives and terrible times in our lives,” she added. “Right now he’s in a place where he can actually enjoy being Batman.” Plus, he doesn't have to carry the entire movie. “It's a pivotal role, but at the same time it’s a fun part,” she said.
https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2020/08/ben-affleck-returns-batman-the-flash-multiverse-keaton
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Update: June 22, 2020
Michael Keaton in Talks to Return as Batman in THE FLASH Movie
After nearly 30 years, Michael Keaton is in talks to return to the role of Batman, to appear alongside Ezra Miller in Warner Bros.’ upcoming movie “The Flash,” TheWrap has learned exclusively. Talks with Keaton are in the very early stages, it is far from a sure thing, and can go either way. No details are currently available about how big or small Keaton’s role is.
If a deal makes, Keaton wouldn’t just return for
Flash but possibly for several other DC-oriented film projects. Sources tell
THR that the role being envisioned for the veteran actor is akin to the role played by Samuel Jackson as Nick Fury in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, something of a mentor or guide or even string-puller.
Batgirl is one the projects in development that could fall into that category.
That plot will introduce general audiences to the idea of the multiverse, one of the of core concepts underpinning DC Comics. For the non fanboy set, the multiverse refers to a shifting number of alternate universes that coexist within the larger reality depicted in DC comics. Originally created to explain various contradictory changes the company’s characters experienced over decades, it allows several different versions of the same characters to simultaneously exist and, occasionally, interact. Matt Reeves upcoming “The Batman” will not be affected and Robert Pattinson’s Bruce Wayne is still viewed as the future of the franchise.
Keaton last played Batman in 1992’s “Batman Returns,” but quit the role during development of a third film after Burton was pushed out as director and replaced with Joel Schumacher, who took the series in a campier direction with 1995’s “Batman Forever” and its much-reviled 1997 follow up “Batman & Robin.”
But “The Flash” will disregard the latter two entries entirely, and explore what Keaton’s version of Batman has been up since we last saw him. Loosely based on the 2011 DC Comics crossover event “Flashpoint” — previously
announced as the film’s title at Comic-Con 2017 — the story sees Ezra Miller’s Barry Allen travel back in time to prevent the death of his mother. The result? Allen inadvertently creates another universe protected by Michael Keaton’s Batman, now 30 years older.
https://www.thewrap.com/batman-returns-michael-keaton-bruce-wayne-the-flash-movie/
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Update: December 11, 2019
Warner Bros. Sets July 1, 2022 Release Date for THE FLASH Movie Starring Ezra Miller
Warner Bros. has dated its DC Comics solo
The Flash movie for the summer of 2022 and will be released on July 1, the studio announced on Wednesday.
Ezra Miller will reprise his role as the scarlet speedster. Created in 1956, DC Comics’ The Flash, whose secret identity is Barry Allen, is a hero with the power of super speed that allows him incredible abilities, including time travel. The character was a part of Zack Snyder’s
Justice League and debuted in 2016’s
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
“Nothing is ever certain in this world, but as certain as things get, we’re making a f–king crazy-dope ‘Flash’ movie,” Miller said in an interview with
Playboy.
Miller called starring in the standalone movie “one of my greatest life dreams.”
“Anyone who knows about Barry Allen knows he may arrive late,
very late, but once he gets there, it’s all solved. We have to trust,” Miller said.
It director Andy Muschietti is in talks to direct
The Flash, an individual with knowledge of the project told TheWrap. Muschietti’s partner and sister, Barbara Muschietti, will produce along with Michael Disco on the film.
Birds of Prey writer Christina Hodson is being eyed to write the script.
https://www.thewrap.com/dc-comics-the-flash-movie-july-2022-release-date/
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Update: July 2, 2019
Andy Muschietti Replaces John Frances Daley and Jonathan Goldestein as THE FLASH Director
Warner Bros.’
Flash movie project has been jolted by lighting. Andy Muschietti, the filmmaker behind the hit Stephen King adaptation
It and the upcoming
It: Chapter Two, is in talks to direct the action-adventure project based on the DC Comics superhero. His partner and sister, Barbara Muschietti, will produce, joining Michael Disco on the project.
John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein, who wrote drafts of the script and were slated to helm the project, have moved on. However, Ezra Miller, the actor who has long been attached to star as the fleet-footed hero, remains on board to star.
But in a further development, the studio won’t be moving forward with the script Miller co-wrote with comics author Grant Morrison. Instead, Warners will hire Christina Hodson, the scribe behind
Bumblebee and the studio's upcoming DC movie, the Margot Robbie-fronted
Birds of Prey, to tackle the script. The goal is to be in prep by January.
Dealmaking has not yet begun, stress insiders. Official offers are expected to go out shortly.
Goldstein and Daley’s exit is described as voluntarily, according to multiple sources. The pair have been with the project since January 2018, writing the script and developing it to direct. At one point, the project seemed like it was heading toward a start date in late 2019. But months of tensions over creative differences bogged down the project, with the duo deciding it was time to move on and find new opportunities.
The tensions surfaced around what kind of take was the best fit for a
Flash movie. Miller, who has played the character since 2016’s
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, favored a darker approach, while Goldstein and Daley, the pair who wrote
Spider-Man: Homecoming and were behind the comedy hit
Game Night, wanted the opposite.
The two sides have been working on compromises since last year, but Miller then made the unusual move to take it upon himself to pen his own script, enlisting the aid of comics superstar Morrison. That script was submitted to the studio in March. By May, the studio rejected his approach, but concluded that Miller should still remain the Scarlet Speedster.
Muschietti hails from the horror world and made his feature debut with
Mama, the 2013 thriller that starred Jessica Chastain. His adaptation of
It, released in 2017, was a critical and commercial hit, making over $700 million worldwide. Warners is high on the sequel, with the title being the only movie the studio will be showcasing at the upcoming San Diego Comic-Con. With Muschietti being chosen for
Flash, the studio is clearly pleased with the filmmaker, too.
If a deal is made, Muschietti will be the latest horror filmmaker to cross over to directing a DC movie after going through the trenches of sister division New Line. James Wan directed
Aquaman, a billion dollar hit, while David Sandberg, who directed
Annabelle: Creation and
Lights Out, made the most recent DC hit,
Shazam! Jaume Collet-Serra, who got his start with movies such as
House of Wax and
Orphan, is attached to helm
Black Adam.
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/it-director-andy-muschietti-direct-flash-movie-1216021
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Update: March 15, 2019
Ezra Miller Now Writing THE FLASH Script with Grant Morrison to Stay on Board as Star
In a bid to keep himself involved as the Scarlet Speedster, actor Ezra Miller is taking a hands-on approach to
The Flash. Miller is taking a stab at writing the script for the Warner Bros. project,
The Hollywood Reporter has learned. He has teamed up with Grant Morrison, the acclaimed comics author, to pen a draft that could determine if he stays on as star, playing crimefighter Barry Allen.
The development has bubbled up from a clash of creative visions. John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein, who have been on board the project
since January 2018, have a light-hearted approach to the material (and even hail from that sort of background, with credits like
Spider-Man: Homecoming and
Game Night). And, as sources note, that is the general track favored by Warners, which scored
a billion-dollar hit with
Aquaman by going the fun spectacle route and is seeing strong buzz on
Shazam!, which is wearing its “superheroics is fun” on its sleeve .
Miller is said to want a darker take on the material.
The two sides have been working on compromises since last year but Miller took the initiative to tackle the story himself. He partnered with Morrison, with Warners hiring the two to script their take. It is a rare move for an actor to be so invested in a superhero project that they switch hats, but Miller sees himself as deeply committed to the character.
Despite its namesake,
Flash has been anything but in its journey to the silver screen, going through several directors and writers. Miller, however, has been a constant, having been
first cast by filmmaker Zack Snyder for the role in 2016’s
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and embracing the role fully in
Justice League.
The script could be submitted to the studio as early as next week.
But there could be a lot riding on it. If Warners chooses against Miller's take on the hero, the actor could part ways with the project. Additionally, and fittingly for a hero who races to beat the clock, there is a countdown scenario here as well: according to one insider, Miller’s holding deal on
Flash expires May.
Despite the clashes on
Flash, Miller remains a presence on the Warners lot. He has played a key character in the studio’s
Fantastic Beasts movies and is expected to shoot the third installment at the end of this year.
'Flash' Shocker: Ezra Miller Writing Script with Grant Morrison in Bid to Stay On as Star (Exclusive)
