The Flash has a wildly popular television series, but Warner Bros. Pictures has had one problem after another with its plans for a live-action movie starring Ezra Miller as the fleet-footed superhero. The director’s chair on the troubled project has become a revolving door in recent years, but Warner Bros. Pictures has now reportedly found a new filmmaker — or in this case, filmmakers — to helm the movie.
Vacation directors John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein are reportedly in talks to direct Flashpoint, the upcoming solo feature that puts Miller front and center as DC Comics’ scarlet speedster.
According to Variety, WB attempted to convince Batman actor Ben Affleck to direct the film, only to have him decline the offer. The studio then had to wait until there was an opening in Miller’s schedule due to his work on Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, the upcoming sequel to Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, which finished filming in December 2017.
Daley and Goldstein are no strangers to superhero movies, having penned an early draft of the screenplay for Spider-Man: Homecoming, the critically praised 2017 film that brought Marvel Comics’ famous web-slinger into Marvel’s cinematic universe. In addition to directing 2015’s comedy franchise reboot Vacation, the pair also directed the upcoming crime comedy Game Night, starring Rachel McAdams and Jason Bateman.
The involvement of Daley and Goldstein suggests that the studio is going for a more comedic take on Flashpoint than it has with the other films in its DC Extended Universe of live-action films. The most recent draft of the script came from King Arthur: Legend of the Sword screenwriter Joby Harold, which is reported to be a full rewrite after the studio decided to go in a different direction with the character than prior drafts of the script had taken him.
Details are scarce regarding the plot of Flashpoint, but the film is reported to be set after the events of Justice League and be inspired by the DC Comics story arc of the same name, which had The Flash deal with the dangerous fallout of a decision he once made to alter the past using his powers.
Daley and Goldstein are the latest in a long list of filmmakers attached to Flashpoint in various forms over the years. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter and Pride and Prejudice and Zombies screenwriter Seth Grahame-Smith was originally expected to make The Flash (as it was titled at that point) his directorial debut, only to have him leave the project due to creative differences with the studio. Rick Famuyiwa, who directed the critically acclaimed drama Dope, was later hired, only to depart in October 2016 due to creative differences.
Most recently, the studio reportedly met with Matthew Vaughn (Kick-Ass, Kingsman: The Secret Service), Robert Zemeckis (Forrest Gump, Back to the Future), and Sam Raimi (Spider-Man, The Evil Dead) in May 2017 about the film, with Zemeckis rumored to be the leading contender for the director’s chair.
The studio has been shaking things up over the last few months after all but one of its superhero movies have underperformed expectations critically and commercially. The sole bright spot for the studio so far has been 2017’s Wonder Woman, with Man of Steel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Suicide Squad, and Justice League all failing to live up to their potential in one way or another. The next film in the DCEU hitting theaters is Aquaman, which premieres December 21.
There’s currently no release date set for Flashpoint.
