You can now watch The Flash a week early – and it’s going head-to-head with Pixar’s novelty.
Surprised? Close observers of the film industry have spent much of the past year wondering what Warner Bros. might do about The Flash. The DC film has become a PR headache for the studio due to star Ezra Miller’s increasingly erratic behavior in public. In recent years, the actor has come under scrutiny for choking a woman in Iceland, has been accused of nurturing children, has been arrested multiple times for assault and burglary and, despite protests, is said to be killing a mother and three young children on an unlicensed Cannabis farm have housed her father.
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All of this led to speculation that it might be impossible for Warner Bros. to even release The Flash, which was already completed, let alone work with Miller on more projects. Warner Bros. executives reportedly stalled future plans to bring Miller into the DC Universe earlier this year, but that still left the question of what to do with The Flash.
But the studio has begun to view the troubled film as an asset rather than a liability, according to a new report.
Deadline has reported that the response to early test screenings for The Flash has been overwhelmingly positive, with an anonymous source saying the film is as good as Disney’s Spider-Man: No Way Home. The film reportedly features nostalgic cameos from Michael Keaton and Ben Affleck, which were very well received by fans.
The strong response has prompted Warner Bros. to bring forward the film’s 2023 release date by a week. The film was originally scheduled to open in theaters on June 23, 2023, but will now open on June 16. This slot positions the film to compete for a large chunk of the Father’s Day weekend box office with Pixar’s “Elemental” and Sony’s Jennifer Lawrence comedy “No Hard Feelings” as the film’s only major competitor.
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It’s not yet clear if the positive early reactions to The Flash will prompt Warner Bros. and DC Studios’ new CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran (who were hired after The Flash was already completed) to reconsider working with Miller in future projects. Miller apologized for her behavior and vowed to seek treatment for her mental health in August.
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