The last few years have been an exciting one for director Andy Muschietti. He became a household name with his first massively successful IT movie, which made a ton of of movies at the box office while also accruing countless stellar reviews. He'll continue the story with IT: Chapter Two, moving the story up 27 years with a stellar cast of adult actors. His next movie is DC's long awaited Flash movie, but don't expect Barry Allen's first solo flick to have moments of horror.
After It: Chapter Two finally arrives in theaters, Andy Muschietti is planning on taking a small break from filmmaking, before eventually diving headfirst into his DC debut. Fans have been waiting for years for the Flash movie to finally move forward, after losing three sets of directors and being pushed back multiple times. But Muschietti isn't planning on bringing his horror expertise to the Ezra Miller-led movie. As he recently put it:
An element if horror? I don’t think so. What captivated me about the Flash is the human drama in it. The human feelings and emotions that play in the drama [of it]. It’s going to be fun, too. I can’t promise that there will be any horror [elements in it], really, but it’s a beautiful human story.
Well, that seem pretty cut and dry. We shouldn't expect any jump scares or creepy moments in the Flash movie. Instead, we'll get an intimate look at the title character and the rest of the movie's cast.
Andy Muschietti's comments to Fandango might be somewhat surprising, given the director's penchant for horror in the IT franchise. Barry Allen isn't typically associated with this genre, and it would break new ground to make his super speed and adventures a bit scary. Alas, we should expect a character-driven blockbuster outside of Muschietti's typical comfort zone.
Related: IT Chapter Two Director Andy Muschietti Will Take A Break Before Working On The Flash Movie
Plenty of horror filmmakers have been getting the chance to work on bigger budget movies, including superhero flicks. Just look at horror visionary James Wan for example. After working on projects like Saw, The Conjuring, and Insidious, he eventually began taking on massive blockbusters. Wan helmed Furious 7, before eventually landing directing gig on DC's Aquaman.
Unlike Andy Muschietti, James Wan used his horror background quite a bit for Aquaman, particularly during the already iconic Trench sequence. That scene really resonated with audiences, so much so that a spinoff was ordered by Warner Bros. But the deep of the ocean does seem like a fairly scary setting, in juxtaposition to Barry's time on land.
It also doesn't exactly make sense for the Flash movie to go full on horror, considering its title character. Ezra Miller made his major debut as The Flash in Zack Snyder's Justice League, serving as the primary source for comedic relief. Miller played Barry Allen as super quirky and socially awkward, only just getting his feet wet in the superhero world. Its a refreshing dynamic for the genre, and one that should be used when he finally gets Flash's solo movie finally begins production.
It should be interesting to see exactly what Andy Muschietti ends up putting in the Flash movie. There have been countless rumors and reports during the film's long gestation period, so it seems like just about anything is possible. Multiple scripts have come and gone, so the IT director should have a bevy of ideas to chose from when he finally begins pre-production for the long awaited DC blockbuster.
One of those most common rumors is that the Flash's solo movie will be an adaptation of the famous Flashpoint comic book plot line. The 2011 comic book arc saw Barry Allen wake up in an alternate universe. His mother was still alive, while his father Henry died from a heart attack. What's even more unexpected is that he had lost his speedster superpowers, and was no longer the Flash as we knew him.
The entire comic book is set in an alternate reality, full of dark version of DC heroes and members of the Justice League. Batman has a penchant for killing (although we saw Batfleck do that in the DCEU), while Wonder Woman and her Amazons had begun conquering man's world, starting with the British Isles. What follows is an epic journey through time, opening up the multiverse and putting Barry Allen right in the middle of an insane conflict.
It seemed like Flashpoint might be what the Flash's movie was based off. In fact, there were reports that Justice League actor Gal Gadot would appear in the movie, likely as the dark version of Diana Prince. But that was many years ago, and the DCEU had changed drastically following the poor box office and critical performance of Justice League.
Justice League failed to connect with audiences in theaters, as Joss Whedon's version of the Zack Snyder's blockbuster was a bit disjointed. Since then, Warner Bros. has moved away from crossover heavy projects and ensemble films, instead focusing on director-driven movies like Shazam! and Aquaman. What's more Ben Affleck departed his role as Batman, and Henry Cavill's fate as the Man of Steel remains unclear.
Its for this reason that fans weren't sure if the Flash movie would ever happen. After all, Andy Muschietti is the whopping fourth director to take the job. But the IT helmer seems committed to making the project a reality, and he's gone on record to say that Barry Allen's blockbuster will be the next movie he works on. After a short break, of course.
Andy Muschietti has been keeping his plans for the Flash movie under wraps, but it's no doubt comforting for DC fans that he's teasing such a character-driven story. Rather than being caught up on spectacle and action, the director wants to make sure the upcoming blockbuster will be emotional and focused on Barry Allen and the rest of the cast. Seems like a big change from Ezra Miller's previous appearance as the character, one that moviegoers will hopefully enjoy.
It: Chapter Two will arrive in theaters on September 6th, and the DCEU will continue with Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) on February 7th, 2020. In the meantime, check out our 2019 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.
