It may have been riding a wave of buzz and momentum that’s seen nearly all comers paint it as one of the best superhero movies to come along in years, but the biggest problem facing The Flash has absolutely nothing to do with its quality.
That may have already been reflected in the most recent box office projections, seeing as early estimates that it was in with a shot of reaching $140 million in its domestic opening weekend now being revised down by anywhere up to 50 percent in the latest projections, and it could yet fall into the exact same trap as Shazam! Fury of the Gods.
Sure, The Flash boasts Michael Keaton’s Batman, Michael Shannon’s General Zod, Ben Affleck’s Bruce Wayne, Jeremy Irons’ Alfred, Sasha Calle’s Supergirl, and that other massive cameo director Andy Muschietti has already spoiled, but at the end of the day, marketing a $200 million comic book blockbuster to the masses by constantly reiterating that it’s going to reboot an entire universe and thusly won’t mean a damn thing in the long run may not have been the smartest play.
At best, Ezra Miller’s Barry Allen and Calle’s Kara Zor-El will be invited to stick around for James Gunn and Peter Safran’s overhaul of the DCU, but that’s it. Even then, their respective futures are nowhere near guaranteed, which underlines the sheer redundancy of the entire operation. What’s the point in shelling out money for a ticket to see a film that’s already signposted the fact it doesn’t mean anything?
Marvel’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania flopped despite laying the foundations for the entirety of Phase Five and beyond, whereas Fury of the Gods tanked because everyone knew there was no point in getting invested. The Flash exists somewhere in the middle, but that could prove to be a curse more than a blessing.
