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SYFY WIRE The Flash

Ezra Miller teaming up with Grant Morrison to write his own draft of The Flash

By Matthew Jackson
Flash Justice League

The latest wrinkle in the saga of Warner Bros.' long-developing Flash movie involves the star himself rolling up his sleeves and attempting to rewrite the movie.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Ezra Miller — who cameoed as Barry Allen, aka the Flash, in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad before co-starring in 2017's Justice League — is writing his own draft of his character's solo film, the latest development in a long process that's included multiple directors and screenwriters so far.

But that's not all. Miller is reportedly teaming up on the project with legendary DC Comics writer Grant Morrison, whose past credits include co-writing The Flash with Mark Millar in the late 1990s and an acclaimed run on JLA, among many others.

John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein (Spider-Man: HomecomingGame Night) have been on board the project as writers for more than a year, and their script apparently takes a lighter tone in the vein of their own past work and Warner Bros.' recent hit Aquaman, as well as the upcoming Shazam! Miller, who remains very committed to the Barry Allen character, wants a darker movie, and despite compromises with the writing team, sought to team up with Morrison and write his own draft, which Warners then hired him for.

Miller's attempt to reshape The Flash to suit his preferences for the future of the character is a big step for a star who might otherwise just walk away. Things get even more interesting when you consider the stakes: Miller's holding deal that binds him to The Flash is reportedly up in May, and Warner Bros. could see the Miller/Morrison draft by next week. With a ticking clock in place on their star, the studio has a decision to make, and if they try to convince Miller to stick with a version of the Daley/Goldstein draft, he could choose to walk away and let his deal expire rather than deal with the studio's choice.

The move is the latest in a long string of personnel shifts behind the camera on The Flash, which was originally set to be written by Phil Lord and Chris Miller (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse). Lord and Miller ultimately departed the project as Seth Grahame-Smith came on board as director. Then Grahame-Smith left to make room for Dope director Rick Famuyiwa, who has also since departed. Daley and Goldstein were brought in last year to rewrite the film, which was ostensibly still set to be based on the DC Comics arc Flashpoint, and now Miller and Morrison have raised the prospect of a competing draft. All these developments, even before today's news, were enough to lead to reports that the film might be pushed back as far as 2021.

So the two Flash scripts are in a race to see which can impress Warner Bros. the most, with the film's star hanging in the balance.