The Flash was finally released in theaters last week. While it underperformed at the box office and is now set to become a major flop, the film is still receiving decent responses from the critics and the audience as evidenced by the online scores.
However, the film did suffer in its marketing as its lead star Ezra Miller was absent from any press activities due to their controversies and the studio relied on word-of-mouth from high-profile figures in the industry and early screenings to convince the public to check out the film.
Some people are starting to wonder whether Miller's absence in the promotions and their controversies were the reasons why the film underperformed and whether the studio should have recast them.
After all, there were rumors back when Miller's controversies were making it into the headlines that they might get replaced by another actor. Now, we finally have the clarification from the people behind the film.
The Firing of Ezra Miller in The Flash Was Never an Option
In an interview with MovieMaker, The Flash producer Barbara Muschietti was asked how Miller's controversies last year affected the making of the film. She clarified that, while they took the issues seriously, they were still focusing on making sure that the film will get released.
"No, you know, as filmmakers, you have to put your head down and just do your work. Of course, we take that stuff very seriously, but we were focusing on the movie," she said.
Director Andy Muschietti also added by iterating that their love for the film "only grew" as they move forward with its production.
"We really believed in the movie from the beginning," he explained.
"Over the course of two years, our confidence grew higher as the script was developed, as actors started falling into place, as the execution started to happen in production, and in the edit. Our love and confidence and trust of this movie only grew."
When asked whether recasting Miller and reshooting their scenes was an option, Barbara refuted the claims as it would be an impossible move and it's all just a rumor that they just laughed at.
She said, "No, it would have been absolutely impossible. When we started reading in the news that Ezra would be replaced, we laughed, because we didn’t know where it came from. That rumor definitely didn’t come from us or the studio."
While a lot of people speculated that Miller could have been fired when they had their controversies last year, it looks like they were never going to be replaced regardless of the headlines and issues surrounding them.
Considering that Miller was in almost every frame of the film (even appearing twice in the later part), it's not surprising that they were not recast and the studio was committed to keeping them no matter what.
However, in regards to the future, an easy guess is that Miller might not remain in the role since the film disappointed at the box office, and the new regime of DC Studios might rather do a hard reboot and recast all the roles.
Also Read: The Flash Star Sasha Calle Expertly Dodges Ezra Miller Question
The Flash is showing in theaters everywhere. You can check more details about it here.
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