The Flash Problem
Warner Brothers is too deeply into Ezra Miller’s Flash movie to just shelf it. That appears to be an option that is off the table. The problem is that Ezra Miller has gone from bad boy to public pedophile.
If you can’t keep that shit under wraps, Hollywood has no use or respect for you. Not these days anyway.
The statement that Miller’s groomee made that was supposed to make her sound like she was simply a young woman with her own agency, following her own path, made it sound like she was a completely brain-washed zombie. Which wasn’t the look that Warner Brothers was going for. And as of this writing Miller appears to be on the run. The processer servers haven’t been able to find him anywhere.
The just Lay Low Plan appears to be impossible for Ezra Miller and the press isn’t going to play along anymore. The meat is just too juicy and allegedly there is a second groomee somewhere in Hawaii.
Warner Brothers simply can’t use Ezra Miller, nor can they walk away from the kind of money they’ve put on the table.
There are three possible solutions. Declare the movie a write-off and take the insurance and tax break. Problem; the insurance probably won’t cover Ezra Miller’s problems. If he died suddenly that would be one thing and I’m sure it’s crossed the mind of somebody at Warner Brothers, but as it is, shelving it (as I said is) is off the table. They need to get some of their money back.
Second solution. Back to the Future time. Reshoot every scene that has Ezra Miller in it with another actor. Problem; it will cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $100 million. Miller plays three different flash characters and is in 90% of the movie. It will be ghastly expensive; they have to round up some fairly pricey actors after their contracts have expired. And all of the sets have been destroyed, they’ll all have to be rebuilt. The list of expenses just goes on and on.
Third solution. Meet Booster Gold. This is the go cheap plan. Spend about $50-$60 million on a made-for HBOmax mini-series. Write a brand new multiverse story, with a completely different hero and build the narrative around the existing footage of any actor who isn’t Ezra Miller. I picked Booster Gold out of a hat because he’s a time traveler but there are others in the DC pantheon you can work with.
The major downside to Meet Booster Gold is that Warner Brothers is guaranteed a loss that way. With the Back to the Future plan, there is a chance (however small) that it will reach somewhere around the $1 billion mark and thus, Warner Brothers can break even.
I have no idea which plan Warner Brothers will go with and neither does Warner Brothers.
One thing that is for certain is that Zack Snyder is never going to be allowed to pick his own cast again.