I don’t know about you guys, but I was kind of happy when Warner Bros’ upcoming The Flash movie lost its director recently. No, I’m not some blinkered Marvel fanboy who just wishes nothing but ill will on DC Comics movie, nor am I one of the people who wants the movie version of The Flash to fail as revenge for not letting Grant Gustin’s much beloved TV Barry Allen step up to the role. Rather it all has to do with Seth Grahame-Smith. I’m sorry, folks. But I just don’t trust the guy who wrote Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter and Dark Shadows, and who has never directed a damn thing in his life before, to actually helm one of the most essential and arguably most scrutinized movie in Warner Bros’ DC Comics lineup.
So, yes, I was relieved to see him go. And my relief is as nothing when compared to the excitement I feel for his replacement, as Deadline is reporting that WB have now tapped Rick Famuyiwa, the rapidly rising writer-director behind the acclaimed Sundance hit Dope to direct The Flash movie. Famuyiwa is also a strong early Emmy contender for his work directing HBO’s true story sexual assault court case drama starring Kerry Washington.
At first glance, despite his clear skills as a filmmaker, Famuyiwa may not seem like the type of director that’s a good fit for the comic book superhero genre, but WB are reportedly looking for somebody whose vision will resonate with the younger demographic, which the Flash movie is reportedly very much geared to. And Dope, which tells the tale of a young teenage geek just trying to survive some crazy circumstances in the crime-ridden streets of Inglewood, California, definitely stands as a testament to that. The movie is just filled with the type of energy and sense of youthful fun that a character like Barry Allen definitely needs, and told in a very distinctive personal voice by Famuyiwa. Combine that with his drama chops, and you can see why WB would be interested in taking the 42-year old filmmaker from the indie film festival circuit to the blockbuster big leagues.
You may recall that there were some rumours going around a while back that Marvel had exactly the same plan as they were reportedly also courting Famuyiwa to direct their Black Panther movie. Eventually that movie ended up under the control of Creed‘s Ryan Coogler though, who actually has many of the same attractive filmmaking qualities.
As for The Flash, Famuyiwa will still be working from the script penned by Grahame-Smith, which was based on the initial outline created by Lego Movie and 21 Jump Street‘s Phil Lord and Chris Miller when they were still originally planning to direct. You can more than likely expect Famuyiwa to put his own stamp on this story though, but based on their incredible track record I would assume that whatever Lord and Miller came up with would still form the spine of this movie.
The Flash stars Ezra Miller as speedster Barry Allen and is scheduled for release on March 16, 2018.
Last Updated: June 6, 2016
