‘The Flash’ director Andy Muschietti backs Ezra Miller returning to direct potential sequels

With The flash finally ready to hit the road, director Andy Muschietti is considering whether he would like embattled star Ezra Miller involved in a possible sequel to the Warner Bros. superhero flick.

Muschietti and producing partner Barbara Muschietti sat down for an upcoming episode of the podcast The speech podcast ahead of the film’s June 16 release. In a preview of the conversation, Andy Muschietti was asked if he would have Miller reprise the role in any future films the director may direct for the DC Studios franchise. In The flashMiller plays two versions of Barry Allen.

“If (a sequel) happens, yeah,” he said of Miller, who uses them/their pronouns, potentially reprising Barry Allen in later projects. “I don’t think there’s anyone who can play that character as well as they do. The other portrayals of the character are great, but this particular take on the character, they’re just excellent at it. And, as you said, the two Barrys, he feels like a character made for them.

Similarly, Barbara Muschietti expressed her appreciation for Miller’s work on the upcoming film: “In principal photography, Ezra was brilliant, the most committed and professional actor. Ezra gave everything to this role: physically, creatively, emotionally. They were absolutely supreme.

The release of The flash that’s a long time coming, as the stock has been delayed by COVID and has come under scrutiny over Miller’s personal issues. The perpetrator, who has been the focus of several criminal investigations and pleaded guilty in January to trespassing, released a statement last August saying he had been seeking treatment for “complex mental health issues”.

As previously reported by The Hollywood ReporterWarner Bros. already has a script for a Fast sequel which was written by Aquaman screenwriter David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick, in case next month’s film is a big hit.

The flash drew strong reactions when it screened at CinemaCon last month, where Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav heralded it as his favorite superhero film of all time. In January, three months after news broke that James Gunn and Peter Safran would take over as heads of DC Studios, Gunn told a conference with members of the media that The flash it is “arguably one of the greatest superhero films ever made”.

Muschietti’s feature is the second of four DC films released this year to be made for DC Films under former boss Walter Hamada, following March’s Shazam! Fury of the Gods. (Blue Beetle is slated for an August release, while Aquaman and the lost kingdom hits theaters this Christmas.) Gunn told reporters that the stars of all four films could potentially reprise their roles in subsequent DCU projects: “There’s nothing against that happening.” However, sequels to those films have not been announced as plans as part of Gunn and Safran’s upcoming slate.

DAY reported last week that The flash it’s eyeing an opening weekend in the $70 million range, which would be a soft launch for a tentpole film that’s received a large marketing push.