Barry Allen has finally found a new director. Or directors, according to Variety.
Spider-Man: Homecoming scribes John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein have officially been handed the keys to Flashpoint, Warner’s long-in-development standalone movie featuring Ezra Miller’s Scarlett Speedster.
In doing so, they’ve become the third (and hopefully final) directing team to have a crack at Flash, given Dope filmmaker Rick Famuyiwa left the spinoff project in 2016 due to creative differences – ditto for Seth Grahame-Smith (Pride and Prejudice and Zombies) who was initially expected to direct from his own script.
The appointment of Daley and Goldstein has been long on the cards, it seems, as Warner Bros. executives were wary of announcing a replacement(s) so soon after Famuyiwa’s departure – not to mention the fact that Ezra Miller was busy filming Justice League and fellow WB property, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald.
Ben Affleck (The Batman?) had been approached about the gig, too, but ultimately chose to decline, leading the studio to appoint John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein at the helm.
Best known for their acclaimed work on Spider-Man: Homecoming, both Daley and Goldstein have also accrued writing credits on Horrible Bosses and Game Night, indicating that Warner Bros. is eyeing a comedic tone for its long-gestating Flashpoint movie. They also helmed the recent Vacation reboot starring Ed Helms and Christina Applegate.
At the top-end, this announcement comes just as Warner Bros. begins to reshuffle its fledgling DC Extended Universe. Walter Hamada, for instance, has been placed in control of the studio’s superhero output, so there’s no telling what films will be affected by the shake-up.
One project that is as safe as houses, though, is Flashpoint. Indeed, no longer is Barry Allen’s solo movie a rudderless ship, as John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein have been brought on board to shape the Scarlett Speedster’s future…or should that be his past?