Ezra Miller will continue being the Flash as long as Andy Muschietti is involved in the Warner Bros. superhero franchise, the director said.
During an interview on upcoming episode of “The Discourse” podcast, Muschietti said he has no plans to recast Miller despite the actor’s history of legal troubles and alleged abuse.
“If [a sequel] happens, yes,” Muschietti said about having Miller back as the Flash. “I don’t think there’s anyone that can play that character as well as they did. The other depictions of the character are great, but this particular vision of the character, they just excelled in doing it. And, as you said, the two Barrys — it feels like a character that was made for them.”
“The Flash” producer Barbara Muschietti added, “In principal photography, Ezra was brilliant and the most committed and the most professional [actor]. Ezra gave everything for this role — physically, creatively, emotionally. They were absolutely supreme.”
Miller was cited in Vermont with felony burglary last year. In 2020, the actor made headlines after a recording surfaced in which they appeared to be choking a woman outside of a bar in Iceland. No charges were filed. The actor was also arrested twice in Hawaii in 2022, once for disorderly conduct and harassment. In the Hawaii incidents, Miller pled no contest to a single count of misdemeanor disorderly conduct and paid a $500 fine and $30 in court costs. The harassment charge was dismissed.
Variety exclusively reported last August that Miller was seeking treatment for “complex mental health issues” after going “through a time of intense crisis.”
“I want to apologize to everyone that I have alarmed and upset with my past behavior,” Miller said in a statement at the time. “I am committed to doing the necessary work to get back to a healthy, safe and productive stage in my life.”
Given that Muschietti’s “The Flash” was developed and filmed under the previous leadership at DC Studios, it’s unclear whether or not the Miller-starring tentpole will get a sequel or not (surely big box office grosses will help). James Gunn and Peter Safran are now in charge of DC Studios, but their first slate announcement did not include any word on a second go-around for Miller’s the Flash. Gunn has already hyped the film by calling it “one of the greatest superhero movies” ever made, while Safran has said that Miller’s future as the Flash depends on their continued recovery.
“Ezra is completely committed to their recovery,” Safran said in January. “And we are fully supportive of that journey that they’re on right now. When the time is right, when they feel like they’re ready to have the discussion, we’ll all figure out what the best path forward is. But right now, they are completely focused on their recovery. And in our conversations with them over the last couple of months, it feels like they’re making enormous progress.”
Warner Bros. unveiled “The Flash” in its entirety at CinemaCon in April. The tentpole earned strong first reactions from journalists in attendance. Andy Muschietti told press at the event, “Ezra is well now. We’re all hoping that they get better…They’re taking the steps to recovery. They’re dealing with mental health issues, but they’re well. We talked to them not too long ago, and they’re very committed to getting better.”
“The Flash” production designer Paul Austerberry said earlier this month that most moviegoers would “forget” Miller’s history by the time the movie opened, thus it wouldn’t be a concern for the movie’s opening.
“The Flash” opens in theaters nationwide June 16 from Warner Bros.