One month since Seth Grahame-Smith bowed out of the feature film citing creative differences, we now have word that Rick Famuyiwa is poised to take the reins of The Flash.
The Hollywood Reporter has the scoop, noting that Warner Bros. brass has now switched from one newcomer to another, given that Famuyiwa is coming off the back of wowing Sundance with ’90s hip-hop drama, Dope. It’s a breakout that has evidently caught the eye of studio executives, too, with Famuyiwa becoming the latest creative talent to be appointed under WB’s sprawling DC Extended Universe.
As THR points out, despite Grahame-Smith’s decision to part ways with the superhero flick, The Flash will retain the scribe’s core script, one based on a treatment pitched by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. Back then, before the creative pair were drawn to the Star Wars universe and a certain roguish smuggler who goes by the name Han Solo, Lord and Miller were circling the chance to direct the offshoot, but that’s now a task reserved for Famuyiwa.
As things stand, Ezra Miller remains on board to portray the Fastest Man Alive when The Flash races into theatres on March 16, 2018. Famuyiwa, meanwhile, fired up his directorial career with Brown Sugar and rom-com Our Family Wedding in 2010, but news of the Nigerian filmmaker landing the plum gig of a superhero movie is a sure-fire sign he’s headed for the big time.