The status of The Flash has been in doubt for years. Originally announced back in 2014, Ezra Miller’s first solo outing as the Scarlet Speedster was due to land in 2018. Since then, the project has been in development hell and gone through a number of directors, with the film’s problems compounded by the DCEU changing course after the failure of Justice League and Miller being busy with the ongoing Fantastic Beasts franchise.
But now, the pic may be going ahead after all, as a supposed casting grid for the movie has hit the internet. Before we dive into it though, please take into account that this information comes via 4Chan, so there’s absolutely no way to know whether it’s true or not. With that in mind, the synopsis states that:
“Barry Allen has the power of super speed, and fights daily against villains in Central City, but that doesn’t stop him from suffering for his mother’s death, but everything changes when he meets a mysterious woman, named Eobard Thawne, who teaches Barry a way to change his mother’s tragic fate.”
According to the grid, Jessica Chastain is currently in talks to play Eobard Thawne (aka Reverse-Flash). Leaving aside the gender swap (because who really cares at this point?), I can definitely see Chastain as a rival speedster to the Flash, especially given her performance in the (somewhat unfairly maligned) Dark Phoenix. Of course, this would seem to conflict with the reports that said Warner Bros. were targeting Matthew McConaughey for the role, but perhaps they’ve changed direction? Or, maybe this 4Chan leak is just false?
Right now, it’s hard to say, but other information on this supposed grid says that the film will hit cinemas on July 1st, 2022, that the shoot will begin on November 10th, 2020 and scenes will be shot in London and Atlanta. A November 2020 shoot actually makes a decent amount of sense for Ezra Miller’s schedule, too, as he’s shooting Fantastic Beasts 3 this spring, but that should be wrapped by November.
I guess only time will tell if this information ends up being accurate or just wishful thinking, but after Miller’s unexpected and awesome cameo in “Crisis on Infinite Earths,” I’m definitely itching for a big budget Flash solo movie.
