Even though he was attending the premiere of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, James Gunn would have been fully aware he was going to be posed at least one question about not just The Flash, but star Ezra Miller‘s future as part of the DCU.
Ironically, the co-CEO has been given an easy out regardless of what direction he chooses to take; should the Scarlet Speedster’s solo debut live up to the hype and bring in a veritable bounty at the box office, then there’s a smash hit sequel just waiting to be added to the ever-increasing pile of Chapter 1: Gods & Monsters projects.
Conversely, the confirmation that The Flash will reset the DCU timeline and lead directly into the new era means that Gunn is under no obligations to bring Miller back if he doesn’t want to, despite the actor’s Barry Allen directly causing the reset that’s set the stage nicely for the franchise’s latest overhaul.
When asked about Miller’s potential future or lack thereof, Gunn was about as non-committal as it gets with the old “we’ll see” response, but it’s already been interpreted as ominous news.
You’d have to expect that Miller won’t be particularly heavily involved in The Flash‘s promotional tour – if they even are at all – which leaves them sitting on the sidelines as what’s potentially the biggest movie of their career gears up for release. Gunn holds all the cards, then, but for now he’s not interested in showing a single one of them.