Speculation over the future of DC's film slate has been rampant in the aftermath of Justice League, which was met with poor reviews and a tepid box office. The only sure things at this point are Aquaman, Shazam!, and a Wonder Woman sequel. The fact that both Batman and Superman are in something akin to cinematic limbo says a lot about the dysfunction that has plagued Warner Bros.' efforts to compete with Marvel's wildly successful movie universe. With yet another leadership change at DC Films, fans have been clamoring for clues about what might come next for their favorite heroes.Those fans might find what they're looking for in an unlikely location - Warner Bros.' new black comedy Game Night. The Jason Bateman and Rachel McAdams fronted film is garnering strong reviews, and is surprisingly innovative for a low budget comedy. Game Night's dynamic duo of directors, John Francis Daley and Jonathan M. Goldstein, have reportedly come onboard to direct Flashpoint - though the deal isn't finalized just yet - the DC film which will star Ezra Miller's version of Barry Allen and could potentially reshape the DCEU moving forward. Game Night contains more than its share of hints about how the directors could approach one of the most important films on DC's upcoming slate, and why they're more than up to the challenge.Related: Game Night: Every Twist and Ending Explained

They're Already Part Of The Warner Bros. Family

For their DC films, Warner Bros. has shown a willingness to take relative risks on directors they don't have strong pre-existing relationships with. That worked out fabulously with Patty Jenkins on Wonder Woman, and somewhat less fabulously with David Ayer on Suicide Squad. Even Jenkins' triumphant Wonder Woman was widely rumored to have some minor production headaches early on, which can likely be credited to a creator and executives who didn't have a relationship prior to the production at hand, which is a risky situation when you're making a $150 million, effects heavy film.

That's not a concern with Daley and Goldstein. Game Night may be a smaller scale film than Flashpoint, but it's not insignificant that they're already proven themselves to be reliable collaborators for Warner Bros. The fact that Game Night is getting very strong reviews and looks to be strong counter programming to Black Panther at the box office is only going to make the studio more confident in the duo's ability to deliver a much needed win for their ailing superhero slate.

They Can Bring The Laughs

Ezra Miller as The Flash in Justice League

Ezra Miller's Flash was one of the most widely praised aspects of Justice League. After the doom and gloom of both Man of Steel and Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, Miller's Barry Allen was a breath of fresh air; a good hearted goofball who even manages to pierce Batman's dark exterior, it's a performance that had many salivating to see the scarlet speedster in his own solo story.

Not only is Game Night hilarious, but its comedic sensibilities are on a similar wavelength to Miller's Flash. This shouldn't be surprising - Daley and Goldstein worked on the script for Spider-Man: Homecoming, and Miller's Barry Allen has garnered more than a few comparisons to Tom Holland's Peter Parker. Tone is going to be key to nailing Barry Allen's story, especially if the movie ends up being a relatively direct adaptation of Flashpoint, and Daley and Goldstein seem like a strong choice to balance laughs and gravitas.

They Know How To Cast

Game Night boasts a fairly robust cast, and while Jason Bateman and Rachel McAdams understandably get the most to do, the supporting cast is stacked with ringers. Jeffrey Wright gets less than five total minutes of screen time, but his fake FBI agent is pitch perfect and gets some of the movie's biggest laughs. Billy Magnussen is a revelation as the blissfully unaware idiot Ryan, as is Catastrophe's Sharon Horgan as his reluctant date. Michael C. Hall features as the film's big bad and wrings every ounce of leftover Dexter menace out of himself to make the Bulgarian appropriately terrifying.

Flashpoint will actually be a curious case with casting. If it's a direct adaptation of the comic, then it stands to reason a lot of the film has already been cast, as it would heavily feature alternate reality versions of many established DC heroes - and presumably Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Thomas Wayne, the alternate reality Batman. If it turns out to be a slightly more traditional Flash story, casting the likes of Captain Cold and Eobard Thawne will be crucial to making Barry Allen's world work, and Daley and Goldstein have proved they're up to that task.

The Flash in the Justice League Trailer

Innovative Action Sequences

One of the biggest challenges of putting the Flash in a movie is demonstrating his speed powers in a visually innovative way. The CW's version of the speedster is understandably limited by its budget, but has utilized some pretty nice looking bullet-time effects. Despite director Zack Snyder's reputation as a visual auteur, the Flash's power really weren't presented in any particularly dazzling way in Justice League (though you may choose to blame that on Joss Whedon).

Game Night is not an effects-heavy film, but there are a few sequences that suggest Daley and Goldstein possess the sort of visual flair that would be required for a Flash film. The most notable takes place about halfway through the movie, as the gang steals a Fabergé egg from a seedy millionaire's mansion. As the gang is pursued by angry guards, the egg gets tossed between them over two stories in one seriously impressive tracking shot. It's a deceptively simple, visually arresting sequence that makes you wonder what the directors could do with a significantly expanded budget and Barry Allen's skillset at their disposal.

Related: Flash & Spider-Man Being Relatable' Is What Drew Flashpoint Directors

Intricate, Twisty Plotting

Jason Bateman and Rachel McAdams in Game Night

Game Night's fundamental appeal is that of escalation. What begins as a simple gathering of friends playing board games and charades cascades into a massive plot involving smugglers and witness protections lists and up close and personal murder. And yet it never feels convoluted or heavy; the pace picks up steam as the movie goes along, continuously building to an increasingly bombastic conclusion that pays off every small gag that accumulates along the way.

This is the sort of talent necessary for pulling off a Flashpoint movie, which deals heavily in time travel and surprising alternate reality twists. It's no surprise that Warner Bros. was at one time reportedly pursuing Back to the Future director Robert Zemeckis to helm the film, as the parallels between Barry Allen's alternate reality trek and Marty McFly's past and future hijinks are readily apparent. Making reality twisting time travel work in any coherent way is a tall task, but Game Night suggests that Daley and Goldstein have a strong enough handle on the intricacies of a complicated plot to make it work.

Strong Ensemble Work

The relationship between Jason Bateman and Rachel McAdams is the centerpiece of Game Night, but the film wouldn't work as well as it does without such a talented ensemble. Jesse Plemons features as Gary, the pair's creepy police officer neighbor who obsesses over his ex-wife and is desperate to be invited to a game night. It is a master class in uncomfortable weirdo humor. Friday Night Lights alum Kyle Chandler plays brilliantly against type as Brooks, the arrogant, hot-shot brother to Bateman's Max, who is not what he seems. Lamorne Morris, Kylie Bunbury, and Chelsea Peretti all make the most of their roles, getting at least one huge laugh in limited screen time.

Flashpoint will obviously revolve around Miller's Barry Allen, but it figures to feature an ensemble nearly as imposing as Justice League, as it's a story that most major DC heroes play at least some role in. Maintaining Barry as the film's center in a story that's likely to feature Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and an alternate universe Batman is going to be delicate balancing act, but Game Night's directors have shown they can manage a sprawling cast without marginalizing anyone.

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Flashpoint is going to be a crucial film for DC. It could be the most high concept mainstream superhero movie yet, and many have speculated it could end up serving as something of a soft reboot for the ailing DCEU, as its time travel elements would allow for some universal realignment. Warner Bros. reportedly approached Daley and Goldstein to take on the film after being thoroughly impressed with Game Night, and while that might seem like a strange conclusion to draw from a low budget comedy, the pieces are all there. As Warner Bros. has learned the hard way, there's no guarantee of success with superhero films, but taking a gamble on Daley and Goldstein seems like the kind of measured risk DC's films should be taking.

More: Flashpoint Movie Production Timeline & Villains Possibly Revealed

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