Miller, who identifies as non-binary and prefers to be referred to with they/them pronouns, has had multiple controversies in the past couple of years. The most recent was a felony burglary reported by the Vermont police. These highly publicized issues have had a negative impact on the actor, as well as the productions they are involved in. Now that Ezra Miller has spoken out about the issues in his private life and issued a public apology, where does The Flash movie go from here? Read on for the full details of the situation.
Apology and official statement
Ezra Miller drew international attention as early as 2020, due to an altercation in Iceland while they were taking a break from filming an installment of the Harry Potter spinoff series Fantastic Beasts. This involved Miller apparently choking a woman in public, after a misunderstanding from an alleged prank that escalated unintentionally. Later on, Miller would be the central figure in further controversies, thus connecting the actor to unwanted media attention which affected Hollywood productions that they were working on. After news broke of Miller’s felony burglary charge in Stamford, Vt., a representative of the actor provided an official statement, as shared to Variety: As reported earlier, Warner Bros. Discovery had been considering options with how to proceed with releasing The Flash. Due to the controversies surrounding Miller’s personal life and the adjustments being made to the DC Extended Universe to align with the company’s long-term plans announced by CEO David Zaslav, Warner Bros. Discovery was preparing for the worst case scenarios. This included completely scrapping the already $200 million production.
— Variety (@Variety) August 16, 2022 While this would have been an extreme case, the company has displayed a willingness to take drastic action. The cancellation of HBO Max projects Batgirl and the Scoob! sequel (which combined had already spent $130 million for their productions) are examples of this.
What does this mean for The Flash film?
With Ezra Miller issuing an apology for his publicly erratic behavior and a statement that he is seeking help, Warner Bros. Discovery may take the path of least resistance. That option would be to push through with the release of The Flash in 2023. There may be some additional steps that can be made, including potential reshoots. It is also likely that the studio will limit Miller’s appearances during press tours and marketing, focusing more on his co-stars Ben Affleck, Michael Keaton, and Sasha Calle. There had been rumors that The Flash was going to reshoot the entire third act and climax of the film. According to insider rumors, this would have been to serve as a setup for the possible replacement of Ezra Miller as the title character by the film’s denouement. With the new development of Miller issuing a public apology and attempt to seek professional help, it may be possible to turn around the public relations concern surrounding the superhero film. As the Variety report states: Could Warner Bros. Discovery be able to leverage this situation into a redemption arc for both the actor and the film to the public perception? We will have to wait and see. For the moment, The Flash is still scheduled to arrive in theaters internationally on June 23, 2023.
