Despite early buzz touting The Flash as “one of the greatest superhero movies ever made,” the film ultimately fell short of expectations, earning just $271.4 million worldwide and receiving mixed reviews. Speaking with The Playlist, director Andy Muschietti addressed the film’s disappointing box office results and its critical reception.
A lot of people did not see it, But you know how things are these days — people don’t see things, but they like to talk s*** about it, and they like to jump on bandwagons. They don’t really know. People are angry for reasons that are unrelated to these things.
he said
We just moved on and understood that sometimes there’s a headwind and a project that you dedicated a lot of work to. And we’re very proud of it. I think it’s a good movie.
He went on to add,
Muschietti also acknowledged that the controversy surrounding Ezra Miller affected the film’s performance.
Of course, we had a publicity crisis with Ezra that is undeniable. And I’m not questioning that. But yeah, we love the movie. And actually, we really recommend it.
By the time The Flash hit theaters, James Gunn and Peter Safran had already taken charge of DC Studios and were busy shaping the new DC Universe. Even as the DCEU was being phased out, Muschietti noted that the studio continued to stand firmly behind The Flash.
This may seem immaterial now, but we also had so much support from the studio, really, at a point where they could have been like, you know, backing out because of all the issues we were having with publicity, And they went all in, and we all went all in.
he said
Personally, I never thought The Flash was all that bad. Yes, the CGI was undeniably distracting (and I refuse to believe it was supposed to look like that), and the third act didn’t quite land, but Ezra Miller gave a strong performance, and seeing Michael Keaton return as Batman was a genuine highlight.
As for Muschietti, he’s set to remain part of the DC Universe, still attached to direct The Brave and the Bold. While progress on the project appears to be moving slowly, Gunn recently hinted that they’ve developed “a really, really good story now for what’s happening with Batman.“
Source: The Playlist