A decade ago, Ezra Miller broke out as the troubled teen of the same name in We Need to Talk About Kevin and as a sensitive, charismatic, and erratic boyfriend in The Perks of Being a Wallflower. He then became a cherished mainstay of Warner Bros., appearing in JK Rowling’s Harry Potter prequel franchise Fantastic Beasts as a central Credence Barebone, as well as in the DC Extended Universe as Barry Allen/The Flash.
Since 2014, the studio has been developing a now-plus $200 million The Flash film that will star Miller, who identifies as non-binary and uses she/them pronouns. While the creative process has been challenging (multiple directors and writers) and there has been a lot of corporate turmoil (see: the recently announced $90M Batgirl deferral as a tax write-off), newly installed Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav has The superhero project, set for release in June 2023, has yet to be publicly wavered. Directed by Andy Muschietti, the film completed principal shooting a year ago and has been well tested. Production continues; previously planned re-recordings with Miller took place over the summer.
But a disturbing, well-publicized recent history of incidents involving arrests and protective orders has led Warner Bros. to consider scenarios for his release. Here is a timeline.
APRIL 2020
On April 6, 2020, a short video clip surfaced on social media in which Miller appears to choke a female fan outside a bar in central Reykjavik, Iceland. “Oh, you want to fight? You want to do that?” A source at the bar told Variety that a group of “pushy” fans had confronted Miller, who had lost his temper.
AUGUST 2020 – OCTOBER 2021: The Flash pushes forward.
Miller appeared in a pre-recorded message for DC fans at the Warners-produced online event DC FanDome on August 22, 2020, where the actor announced the film’s time travel aspect. Months later, in October, the pressures of the pandemic forced Warners to push back The Flash’s release date from an original June 2022 date to November 2022.
After years of development, The Flash began filming on April 19, 2021 in London, with director Muschietti posting a new logo with the caption “Here we go!!!”. Filming wrapped on October 8th. A week later, on October 16, Miller shared a recorded message on the DC FanDome in which he presented the film’s first footage — including a nod to Michael Keaton’s return as Batman. Miller said, “I’ll see you in theaters later next year — or, more importantly, you’ll see me.”
JANUARY 2022
Miller delivered a cryptic message targeting a Ku Klux Klan chapter in North Carolina. The actor said in a video he posted to Instagram on January 27: “Listen, if you all want to die, I suggest you just kill yourself with your own guns. OK? Otherwise, just keep doing what you’re doing right now – and you know what I’m talking about – then, you know, we’ll do it for you if that’s what you really want. see you soon Goodbye.” It was never established what prompted the message.
MARCH 2022
On March 9, Warner Bros. made a number of changes to its release calendar, including moving the release of The Flash from November 22, 2022 to June 23, 2023.
In downtown Hilo on the Big Island of Hawaii, police were called to a dispute on March 19, 2022 in which Miller was subpoenaed for blocking a freeway. Police claimed they were “uncooperative and refused to leave the area and continued to block a sidewalk”.
Later that month, on March 28, the Hawaii County Police Department arrested Miller and charged him with disorderly conduct and harassment after they allegedly yelled profanities and got into a fuss with patrons at a Honolulu karaoke bar. Miller is said to have tried to snatch the microphone from a woman and jumped on a man. The actor posted bail and was released.
The next day, a Hilo couple filed a restraining order (later dropped) against Miller, alleging that the actor barged into their bedroom, threatened to kill them, and then took a passport and wallet from one of them.
APRIL 2022
Miller was arrested again in Hawaii on April 19, 2022, this time on suspicion of second-degree assault. The incident happened at an apartment building in Pāhoa on the Big Island. According to local police, Miller “became enraged after being told to leave and reportedly threw a chair, hitting a 26-year-old woman in the forehead, resulting in a roughly half-inch laceration.”
TikTok creator Mia Solange, who uses she/she pronouns, referenced an alleged intimate relationship with Miller. “You took everything from me. Ezra M***er is not a good person. And I can finally say that without fear. #abuser,” they wrote.
Fantastic Beasts: Secrets of Dumbledore opened at the domestic box office over Easter weekend for a mere $43 million. The film’s disappointing performance came as no surprise as the franchise was on the wane. Still, weak box office may have doomed the series’ previously planned five-part arc.
JUNE 2022
On June 7, the parents of 18-year-old Tokata Iron Eyes, an Indigenous environmental activist and member of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe, filed a protection order against Miller on behalf of their offspring. The couple met when Tokata was 12 and Miller was 23. The parents claim that under Miller’s influence, Tokata, who is non-binary, was introduced to illegal drugs such as LSD, dropped out of private school in Massachusetts, and was flown around the world, including to Hawaii and the London studio where Fantastic Beasts and where to find them was filmed. Tokata has publicly pushed back, posting on Instagram, “My decisions are my own.”
Separately, a judge issued another protection order against Miller to a Massachusetts mother on behalf of her 12-year-old child, who is not binary. The decision, issued on June 15, found that “there is a significant likelihood of an imminent threat of harassment.”
AUGUST 2022
Miller was charged on Aug. 8 with burglary in Vermont, where the actor resides, after he allegedly lifted bottles of alcohol from an unoccupied house nearby in May.
A day later, the Toronto Film Festival announced that the Salvador Dalí biopic Dalíland, starring Ben Kingsley and directed by Canadian director Mary Harron (American Psycho), would close the film festival. Miller, who plays Dalí when he was young, was left out of the press announcement. TIFF and the film’s sales agent, Bankside Films, which sells Dalíland to international buyers, did not comment on the omission.
Vermont State Police repeatedly attempted to serve an emergency warrant on a 25-year-old mother of three young children, and on August 9 requested her removal from her care and Miller’s home due to concerns for her safety. Miller has claimed the family hasn’t lived with them in months. But law enforcement believes their attempts at service are being circumvented. Neighbors claim the Hawaiian family was in danger, in part due to unsecured guns on the farm’s property.