DCU head and Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn has heaped heavy praise on the long-delayed The Flash movie, calling it “probably one of the greatest superhero movies ever made.” While outlining his plans via social media for the rebooted DC cinematic universe, Gunn could not help but commend The Flash director Andy Muschietti for his work and states that the filmmaker will work within the DCU again in the future.
“We had input on it for sure, but there’s nothing we had to do in order to set up our universe,” said co-CEO of DC Studios Peter Safran. “We’re very close to Andy Muschietti and Barbara Muschietti, the director and producer of The Flash,” adds James Gunn. “Andy’s going to be doing some more stuff for us.”
Luckily for Gunn and Safran, while they were brought on board the development of The Flash, they did not have to change anything to fit in with their plans for the DCU going forward. While details of The Flash remain largely under wraps, it has been revealed that the movie will follow in the footsteps of the MCU and introduce the concept of the multiverse.
The Flash takes inspiration from the comic book arc Flashpoint and finds Barry Allen traveling back in time to prevent his mother’s murder. But, as is often the case when you mess with the madness of the multiverse, things do not go to plan, with Barry’s actions causing various universes to collide and thus introducing variants of different characters, including the return of Michael Keaton as Batman.
The Flash Will Reset the Franchise and Make Way for the DCU
Following the recent announcement from Gunn, we now have a much better idea of what the DCU will entail. The recalibrated franchise will begin with a Superman reboot, Superman: Legacy, in July 2025, followed by the superhero team-up flick The Authority, a Batman project titled The Brave and the Bold, Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, a Swamp Thing reboot, a Wonder Woman prequel series titled Paradise Lost, the animated series Creature Commandos, a series centered on Amanda Waller, a Green Lantern series titled Lanterns, and a series about Booster Gold.
Gunn has also revealed that The Flash will directly lead to the DCU as he and Safran see it. The filmmaker explains that Muschietti’s multiverse movie completely “resets the entire DC Universe.”
While it is expected that the DC universe will be largely rebooted and recast, Safran did reveal that there is a chance Ezra Miller will continue as Barry Allen, aka The Flash following the emergence of the DCU. “Ezra is completely committed to their recovery,” he said. “We’re fully supportive of that journey that they’re on right now. When the time is right, when they feel they are ready to have the discussion, we’ll all figure out what the best way forward is, but right now, they are completely focused on their recovery. In our conversations with them over the last couple of months, it feels like they’re making enormous progress.”
Directed by Andy Muschietti from a screenplay by Christina Hodson, The Flash stars Ezra Miller alongside Ron Livingston, Michael Keaton, Kiersey Clemons, Michael Shannon, Sasha Calle, and Ben Affleck. Following all manner of delays and drama behind the scenes, The Flash will make his solo debut on the big screen later this year and is scheduled to be released on June 16, 2023.
