[Update: THR now reports that Billy Crudup isnotdropping out ofThe Flash, as EW initially reported. We’ve adjusted the article to reflect the change.]
The directing gig for Warner Bros.’The Flashheated up in a big way last night, as three seriously talented filmmakers arose as the top candidates to take the helm of the DC film. Just weeks afterRobert Zemeckis(Back to the Future) surfaced as a possibility, it was reported thathe’s had discussions with Warner Bros.about taking the helm ofThe Flashmovie, as haveKingsman: The Secret ServicefilmmakerMatthew Vaughnand, perhaps most surprisingly,Sam Raimi. The latter director certainly knows his way around the superhero genre as he helped revolutionize the modern comic book adaptation with hisSpider-Mantrilogy, but alas, just as quickly as Raimi surfaced as a possibility, it appears he’s off the table.
PerEW, Raimi already passed on the prospect of directingThe Flash, as didThe Amazing Spider-ManfilmmakerMarc Webb. It’s fascinating to learn that Warner Bros. was going after these twoSpideydirectors to step in, especially given that Webb has moved back into more character-centric territory with films likeGiftedand the upcomingThe Only Living Boy in New Yorkafter hisSpider-Manfranchise was scuttled following the release ofThe Amazing Spider-Man 2.
No reason is given for why Raimi and Webb passed, but Raimi has been attaching himself to a number of different projects—both big and small—over the last few years, even as it’s now been four years since his last feature,Oz the Great and Powerful. Webb, it seems, is keen on returning to his roots as the(500) Days of Summerfilmmaker just churned out a pair of small-scale dramas after spending years on Sony’sSpider-Manfranchise.
Seth Grahame-Smithwas the first director attached toThe Flash, poised to make his directorial debut on the project as he also wrote the screenplay. But he was subsequently pushed out in favor of hiring someone with more experience, which is when Warner Bros. setRick Famuyiwa(Dope) to take the helm. He was developing the project and heading towards an early 2017 start-date when he abruptly left over creative differences, with the film then missing its production window and being pulled from the release calendar entirely.
Now Miller, who’s still set to play Barry Allen/The Flash, is due to shootFantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them 2this fall, meaning Warner Bros. isn’t in a huge rush to getThe Flashin front of cameras. THR reported that of the candidates mentioned yesterday, Zemeckis seems to be the frontrunner, even though he has another project he’s directing first—an untitled drama starringSteve Carell. Warner Bros. is reportedly willing to wait for him to complete post-production on that film before moving forward withThe Flash, in which case cameras might not even start rolling until the end of 2018.
But the studio deserves credit for aiming high, and if and when they do land a new director for this thing, it sounds like it’s going to be a proven talent and veteran of blockbuster filmmaking. Which is about as big a turnaround as possible from where this project started, with Grahame-Smith at the helm.
What do you think folks? Would you have liked to have seen Raimi or Webb’s spin onThe Flashor are Zemeckis and Vaughn more your speed? Sound off in the comments below.
