He may not have been heavily involved in the movie on a creative level given that the majority of shooting was completed before his ascension to studio co-CEO, but James Gunn nonetheless has a lot riding on the success of The Flash.
For one thing, it’ll finally allow him to rid himself of that pesky SnyderVerse once and for all, with Ezra Miller’s long-awaited solo debut set to hit the big red button that’ll reset the entire DCU and segue straight into the franchise’s incoming overhaul. Secondly, after Shazam! Fury of the Gods, the shared universe really needs a hit, so he’ll be hoping all that early acclaim is backed up by folks buying tickets.
However, it’s ironic that Gunn’s own Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 was the last major comic book adaptation to hit the multiplex, and as a result it’s going to end up being used as the measuring stick for reasons that aren’t entirely restricted to the age-old Marvel vs. DC debate that’s never going to quieten down.
As you can imagine, then, the filmmaker-turned-executive didn’t choose a side when asked if loving Vol. 3 was setting The Flash up to disappoint, even if there was no other way he was going to answer.
The Scarlet Speedster’s first headlining shot at feature film glory still has to shake off the feeling that it’s utterly redundant right from the off, though, but we’ll be finding out whether or not audiences really do care in just a couple of weeks when The Flash finally lands.