“The Flash” starring Ezra Miller as Barry Allen has been in deep waters for quite some time now. The film has been constantly delayed for years due to studio conflicts, script rewrites, and even loss of directors, however the most recent delay was due to Ezra Miller’s questionable public actions. Miller has been in constant legal trouble for things such as assault, disorderly conduct, felony burglary, and harassment. This erratic behavior began in April 2020 and continued until early August 2022, and throughout all of it Warner Brothers Discovery nor DC have spoken a word about Miller’s actions and given updates to what they will do with the character of Barry Allen or the film going forward. It was reported on August 11th, 2022 by The Hollywood Reporter that WBD was considering three options for the franchise. The first would be that Miller gets help and issues a statement about his behavior allowing him to do limited press and the film to release regularly. The second would be the release of the film but Miller would not press and his role would be recast in the future. The third would be to shelve the $200 million film similar to what WBD did to “Batgirl”. As of August 15th, 2022, it looks like WBD is going with option one because Ezra Miller just gave a statement to Variety about his actions and mental health. He said, “Having recently gone through a time of intense crisis, I now understand that I am suffering complex mental health issues and have begun ongoing treatment. I want to apologize to everyone that I have alarmed and upset with my past behavior. I am committed to doing the necessary work to get back to a healthy, safe and productive stage in my life.”
Time will tell if going with option one was the right choice but hopefully Miller is able to heal and “The Flash” will be able to release in theaters on its expected date, June 23rd, 2023.
