The DC Extended Universe may only be two movies deep with Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, but there are plenty more releases heading our way in the near future. Suicide Squad is in post-production and gearing up for its August release, Wonder Woman is still shooting and Justice League: Part One kicked off production earlier this month. Following those, the next movie on the DCEU slate is The Flash, and until today, the movie was set to be directed by Pride and Prejudice and Zombies author Seth Grahame-Smith. Now it’s been reported that he has exited the project.
Six months after it was announced he joined The Flash, The Hollywood Reporter heard that Seth Grahame-Smith left the movie due to “creative differences.” The Flash will still use Grahame-Smith’s script, which he wrote off a treatment from Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, who were originally being considered to direct the Scarlet Speedster’s solo adventure before they snagged the Han Solo movie. This is the second DCEU movie that’s lost its director before production began, as Michelle MacLaren was set to direct Wonder Woman, but also left over “creative differences” and was soon replaced by Patty Jenkins.
Big screen-wise, Seth Grahame-Smith wrote Dark Shadows and the adaptation of his book Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter, The Flash was set to be his first time directing a movie (his only other directing experience is helming two episodes of The Hard Times of RJ Berger). It wasn't stated in the report what these “creative differences” were that led to him leaving, but with a Flash series already airing on The CW, whoever replaces him will have their hands full making the movie feel distinctive from what fans can check out on TV each week. While The Flash didn’t end up working out for Grahame-Smith, he’s already left his mark on the DC Comics media having written 2017’s The Lego Batman Movie. He’s also still involved with Warner Bros writing Beetlejuice 2 and executive producing The Lego Ninjago Movie.
Warning: spoilers for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice are ahead!
The Flash made his DCEU debut last month in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, both in a vision that Bruce Wayne experienced and via security footage on Lex Luthor’s metahuman files. He’ll return next year as one of the six leading heroes in Justice League: Part One, and his solo movie will follow early the next year. Besides Ezra Miller as Barry Allen, no other actors have been officially announced for the movie, although a rumor came out last week listing five supporting characters we’ll supposedly see.
The Flash races into March 3, 2018, which, as the report notes, ideally leaves Warner Bros enough time to find a replacement director.
