The Flash producer Barbara Muschietti participated in a fan Q&A session during the second day of Warner Bros.' DC FanDome event. During the session, Muschietti addressed the rumor suggesting the Ezra Miller superhero film will restart the DC Extended Universe film series.
While Warner Bros.' DC Extended Universe film franchise has enjoyed critical or financial success with Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and Shazam!, the rest of the DCEU library has not fared as well with audiences or at the box office. After Justice League underperformed upon its release in 2017, the studio scrapped director Zack Snyder's original five-film vision for the DCEU and reassessed its plans for the future for the franchise. Those plans include a standalone The Flash film starring Ezra Miller as the Scarlet Speedster following his previous appearances in Justice League and David Ayer's Suicide Squad.
Andy Muschietti, who helmed the recent two-part adaptation of Stephen King's IT, will direct The Flash and has already confirmed the film adapts the famous Flashpoint storyline from the comics. The comments by Muschietti fueled the already-existing fan theory that The Flash would be used to jettison the less successful elements of the DC Extended Universe while keeping the aspects of the franchise that worked. While Barbara Muschietti did not outright confirm this theory, she did note that The Flash will restart the DC Universe in some form during the Q&A session. "Well, I want you to go see it, so I’m not going to tell you a lot. But what I will tell you is that it’s a ride," she said. "It’s going to be fun and exciting and there are a lot of DC characters in it. Flash is the superhero of this film because he is the bridge between all of these characters and timelines. And in a way, it restarts everything and doesn’t forget anything."
Written by Geoff Johns in 2011, the Flashpoint storyline begins with Barry Allen waking up in an altered DC Universe in which he seems to be the only one who is aware of the changes. Upon learning that this new timeline was created after he traveled to the past to prevent his mother from being killed by Reverse-Flash, Allen attempts to undo the changes he made to history but ends up dramatically altering the DC Universe in ways that are irreversible. The storyline and subsequent changes to the DC Comics lore were used by the publisher to relaunch its titles under the New 52 banner.
The probability of seeing The Flash restart elements of the DC Extended Universe is not all too surprising considering Warner Bros. has already started playing around with the concept of alternate timelines. While Zack Snyder's cut of Justice League will be released on HBO Max next year, the director has already confirmed the new version of the film will exist in its own continuity.
There are already signs that certain heroes may make their final appearances before The Flash restarts the DCEU timeline as well. While Ben Affleck had previously announced his retirement from the role of Batman, the actor later signed on to appear in The Flash film in what is widely believed to be a chance to properly bid farewell to the Caped Crusader.
The Flash is scheduled to be released in theaters on June 2, 2022.
Source: DC FanDome