James Gunn's Monumental Praise For The Flash Has Our Attention
Even in the middle of the slate of DC Universe announcements James Gunn and Peter Safran just unleashed, an all too familiar elephant stood in the room. Ezra Miller's been out of the spotlight as of late, but DC fans have made quite clear how they feel about "The Flash" film after its star's numerous scandals and brushes with the law.
Despite this, "The Flash" not only perseveres but actually thrives. The DC Studios' new bigshots have had a chance to see DC's upcoming summer tentpole movie, and Gunn was impressed enough to call it one of the best superhero movies he's seen (via Jenna Busche of /Film). Safran also noted that Miller's currently committed to recovery, and his DCU future will be discussed at an appropriate point down the line.
It's easy to wonder why, in a world where pretty much every other aspect of the DCU is getting a complete reboot, "The Flash" is still around, drawing praise and inching toward its June premiere. After all, the movie's been a magnet for trouble even without Miller's own, significant additions to the controversy pile. DCEU's "The Flash" has been plagued by more than its share of more conventional hassles like changing directors, terrible delay news, and the like.
Yet, through all of its woes, "The Flash" has managed to avoid becoming radioactive in the studio's eyes, to the point that the new studio heads seem to be just as happy with the beleaguered movie as those who came before. What on Earth could cause this seemingly unflappable goodwill toward a project that, when you view it from the outside, should by all rights have had a massive ax hovering above it for a long time now?
There are several likely reasons for Gunn and Safran's pro-"The Flash" attitude, despite all the controversy surrounding Miller. Let's take a look at them.
The writing is likely on the wall for Miller, but there's still a chance that The Flash will be excellent
First of the reasons may very well be the simplest of all: money. Per The Hollywood Reporter, "The Flash" is a $200 million movie, and therefore significantly more difficult to flush away than something like "Batgirl," which had a budget of around $90 million. As DC Studios executives, Gunn and Safran simply can't badmouth the movie like that, regardless of their personal feelings ... though that's not to say they're not telling the truth when they say it's great.
People who've actually seen "The Flash" seem to love it and praise it to high heavens — including Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav, who had great things to say about "The Flash" in a 2022 earnings call (via Variety). "We've seen them, we think they're terrific, and we think we can make them even better," he spoke of three upcoming DC movies. Of course, it's worth noting that one of them was "Black Adam," so your mileage may vary. Still, while Miller's past behavior may very well warrant a whole philosophical discussion about the merits of separating art from the artist, there's a very decent chance that "The Flash" will turn out to be a worthy swan song for the old DCEU.
As for Miller, well — even if you were willing to disregard their various issues, the fact remains that they're one of the last Justice League guards still standing. Even if "The Flash" makes "Avatar: The Way of Water" money at the box office, there's a chance that Gunn and Safran are simply waiting for Miller to recover and recuperate in peace before sitting down to have a conversation that ends the same way it did for Henry Cavill and Gal Gadot.