IT director Andy Muschietti has entered talks to direct The Flash movie, with Christina Hodson (Bumblebee) writing the script. Ezra Miller remains attached to reprise his role as Barry Allen in the DCEU film, following his appearances in Batman V Superman and Justice League.
The DCEU's Flash solo movie has gone through several changes in director at this point, with LEGO Batman Movie cowriter Seth Grahame-Smith and Game Night helmers John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein attached to call the shots at different points in time. Just back in March, it was reported that Miller had started working on a fresh script for the film with comic book writer Grant Morrison, after having disagreed with Daley and Goldstein's more light-hearted approach to the project. Now, it appears that the latter pair have stepped away altogether.
According to THR, Muschietti is currently in talks to helm The Flash movie, with Hodson writing a fresh script. The latter had become a go-to writer for Warner Bros. and DC even before the well-received Bumblebee hit theaters last year, having also written the upcoming Birds of Prey and since worked on the still-developing Batgirl movie. As for Muschietti: his adaptation of Stephen King's IT novel was a huge success for WB in 2017, and his upcoming sequel, IT: Chapter Two, should be just as popular when it opens this September.
Muschietti, if he signs on, will become the latest filmmaker with a background in horror to join the DCEU, following James Wan and David F. Sandberg (who helmed Aquaman and Shazam!). Jaume Collet-Serra also recently signed on to helm the Black Adam movie, having gotten his own start working on horror films like the House of Wax remake and Orphan. The tradition goes back even further than that, in fact, to the original Spider-Man from 2002. Those with long memories might recall that, prior to the Spidey adventure, director Sam Raimi was better known for making the Evil Dead horror-comedies and dark thrillers both fantastical (Darkman) and grounded (A Simple Plan).
The transition from horror to superheroes makes sense (see also: Scott Derrickson directing Doctor Strange); the former genre typically requires more economic filmmaking, which is all the more useful a skill to have while working on a big-budget comic book tentpole. In Muschietti's case, his efforts on IT - and, to a lesser degree, his horror feature debut Mama - also illustrate that he knows how to deliver a crowd-pleaser than's both entertaining and "edgy". It's possible, then, that WB turned to him in the hope that he can deliver a Flash movie that's as serious and character-driven as Miller wants, but hews closer to Aquaman, Shazam!, and Wonder Woman (all of which contain elements of horror) than the DCEU films before them. Either way, he seems like a worthy choice for the job.
Source: THR
