In news that in reality is not all that surprising, Warner Bros just lost one of the directors for a major movie in their DCEU franchise, as Rick Famuyiwa (‘Dope’) has left ‘The Flash’ film over creative differences with the studio, after he himself was brought on to replace Seth Grahame-Smith earlier this year. Famuyiwa seemed to bring a real vision to the project, writing his own version of the script and casting Kiersey Clemons as Iris West, Barry Allen’s love interest in the film (and in the comics), an actress he had a great working relationship with while making ‘Dope,’ who is none too pleased at his departure from ‘The Flash.’ Luckily, it seems like she is a pro and is still going to do the best she can with the character of Iris, as according to Kiersey Clemons:
“Rick was one of the main reasons I wanted to do the movie. So him not being a part of it is obviously very upsetting to me. All I can do is give it up to the gods. Let’s see what happens. Let’s see who’s going to jump in. Ezra and I are going to do what we promised to do from the beginning. No matter who the director is, I am going to do what I think Iris should be.”
Fortunately, there is still some hope for the film, as star Ezra Miller does not seem all that fazed by the loss of Famuyiwa, and has faith in the studio and the process:
“It’s deeply unfortunate, I’m very sad that things didn’t work out with Rick [Famuyiwa], but I also understand that these processes are complicated and really involve a lot of different factors. I trust in the process and I really trust Warner Bros with this property and I’m really excited to do it — however it happens.”
However, this could be the start of a bad trend for the studio and for the DCEU, and if the AT&T deal does go through, I do not see the new corporate overlords being overly generous with a costly franchise with middling results in the box-office that is struggling to keep directors and producers behind the scenes. I see big changes ahead for the DCEU films, but with any luck films like ‘The Flash’ will already be well on their way to being completed by the time that happens, as long as they find a new director quickly and hold onto him or her.
What are your thoughts on the matter? Is this a bad sign for ‘The Flash’ film? Are the suits at Warner Bros exerting too much creative influence and driving away good directing talent? Share your opinion in the comments below!
Sources: Cinemablend, Screen Rant
Nick is a freelance writer based in Los Angeles, who belongs to the privileged few who enjoyed the ending to ‘Lost.’ For more of Nick’s thoughts and articles, follow him on Twitter.
