After a new reveal, I believe The Flash missed the perfect opportunity to make sure the movie’s issues did not happen. First of all, I did not hate Ezra Miller’s The Flash movie. Sure, it was not among my favorite DCEU movies, but I think a lot of the stuff in it did really work. The Flash was where I felt Miller was at their best as Barry Allen, with the actor doing a great job at pulling off a dual role. The DCEU movie was also pitch-perfect in the emotional department.

Barry Allen saying goodbye to his mom at the end of the movie is the most emotional scene of the DCEU for me. That said, it was clear that The Flash had some glaring issues. Chief among them were the distracting CGI in a lot of scenes, problems with the movie’s use of the multiverse, its decision to do a loose version of the iconic Flashpoint instead of committing all the way with Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Thomas Wayne Batman, and the poor cameos. I think a lot of those problems could have been solved with one key change.

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I Think Deadpool & Wolverine’s Shawn Levy Would Have Been Perfect For The Flash

The Flash Switched Directors Multiple Times

Recently, Deadpool & Wolverine director Shawn Levy revealed that he had talks to direct The Flash, which was the closest he ever came to helming a superhero movie before joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe. After several directors had talks for the movie or got attached to the project only to later leave it, It franchise director Andy Muschietti was the final choice to helm Miller’s The Flash. While I like many things Muschietti did with the movie, I believe that Levy would have been the perfect choice to bring the best possible version of The Flash to life.

Levy has had a great career, which includes hit movies and series. Two of the director’s next projects are the MCU’s only movie in 2024, Deadpool & Wolverine, and episodes of the final season of Netflix’s flagship series, Stranger Things. Throughout his projects, Levy has shown that he is perfect for bringing a combination of heart, humor, spectacle, and stakes to life on the big or small screen. Those qualities are what The Flash‘s story was all about, and with his only superhero movie to date breaking records even before release, I think Levy could have turned The Flash around.

Hugh Jackman's Wolverine and Mark Ruffalo's Hulk facing each other

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Shawn Levy Could Have Fixed The Flash’s Biggest Criticism

The Movie’s Plot Device Could Have Been Handled Better

Levy is the director of what should be the biggest exploration of the multiverse in a Marvel film yet. With every new snippet of footage that is revealed from Deadpool & Wolverine, things only seem to get better and more exciting. Levy’s work on the multiversal Deadpool & Wolverine means he could have perfected The Flash‘s most criticized aspect beyond the film’s CGI, which was the movie’s multiverse cameos. What I expected to be an epic sequence turned out to be a baffling affair in more ways than one.

The CGI did look like the quality of a video game from years ago, doing a disservice to many of the actors and characters portrayed in The Flash‘s multiverse sequence. Adding to that, The Flash‘s multiverse cameos felt more like what the director wanted to see, something Muschietti confirmed to Total Magazine (via ClutchPoints), than what fans wanted for the movie. For instance, a cameo as obvious as Grant Gustin’s Barry Allen from the Arrowverse’s The Flash was nowhere to be seen. The Flash‘s cameos also leaked before the movie premiered.

As Deadpool & Wolverine is generating hype with its secret cameos, I think Levy could have put a better lid on The Flash‘s cameos, chosen better ones, and did the most important thing. From what I can tell based on the trailers, Deadpool & Wolverine‘s many multiverse cameos fit the movie’s plot, with a lot of them being characters who are part of the villain’s army. As for The Flash, the movie’s multiverse sequence completely brought the film to a halt out of nowhere, bringing back characters who had no lines for an awful CGI bite-sized appearance.

Custom image of Hayden Christensen, Dylan O'Brien, and Lucas Till.

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I Believe The Flash Director Andy Muschietti Is Better For His Next DC Movie

He Is Taking On A Major DC Universe Hero

While I have my issues with The Flash, I thoroughly enjoyed how Muschietti handled the three versions of Batman that play a role in the story. Michael Keaton’s Batman, at least to me, felt true to how he was in Tim Burton’s Batman movies. Ben Affleck’s Batman was the closest to his comic book persona in the film. Affleck’s Batman really felt ripped out of the page, and I think his best dialogue in the DCEU came during Bruce Wayne’s one-on-one with Barry Allen. Even George Clooney’s Bruce Wayne cameo worked — hilariously.

As such, I’m very excited to see how Muschietti will handle a full-on comic book-accurate Batman in James Gunn’s DCU. He will direct The Brave and the Bold, Batman’s upcoming reboot movie that will feature Damian Wayne and more members of the Bat-Family. Given his great work with three very different versions of Batman, I have high hopes that he will cast a great actor as Bruce Wayne and deliver a Batman that feels part of a universe deeply rooted in the comics. I am certain his Batman movie will be better than The Flash.

The Flash 2023 Movie Poster

The Flash

PG-13

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The Flash is a DC Extended Universe film starring Ezra Miller as Barry Allen, A.K.A. The Flash. Wishing for a world where his mother still lives, Barry Allen manages to find a way to travel through time to save her. However, Barry ends up in an alternate universe where metahumans aren’t present, meaning a living General Zod arrives to conquer the planet. To save this world and return home, Barry will seek the help of two alternate reality heroes, Batman (Michael Keaton and Supergirl (Sasha Calle).

Director

Andres Muschietti

Release Date

June 16, 2023

Writers

Christina Hodson
, Joby Harold

Cast

Ezra Miller
, Michael Keaton
, Ben Affleck
, Sasha Calle
, Michael Shannon

Runtime

2 hours 24 minutes

Budget

200 million

Upcoming DC Movies

Release Date

Joker: Folie à Deux

October 4, 2024

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Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow

June 26, 2026

The Batman – Part II

October 2, 2026