It seems that the DCEU's Flash movie has once again hit another speed bump, and we're starting to worry. Billy Crudup has officially dropped out of the project as Henry Allen, and Sam Raimi has dropped out as one of the potential frontrunners to step behind the camera -- leaving Matthew Vaughn and Robert Zemeckis as the two current favorites for the job. However, now it appears that nerd legend Kevin Smith is interested in taking a crack at Barry Allen, as well. The pop culture icon recently chimed in on The Flash issue, saying:
As the race to find a director for The Flash continues to heat up, Kevin Smith has officially taken to social media to throw his hat into the ring. He doesn't officially say "pick me, pick me" in his tweet, but his modest indicator that he knows a director who's interested in the project seems like an incredibly indirect way to suggest that he would take the job at a moment's notice. He's interested, so now it's a question of whether or not we should take him seriously.
Kevin Smith's geek resume certainly lends credence to the idea that he could potentially be the right man for the job. Over the last few years, he has made his love of the DC universe abundantly clear, so it's obvious that Barry Allen would be in the hands of someone who understands the character. More than that, Kevin Smith has experienced directing Flash fiction with his work on The CW series, and his work on "The Runaway Dinosaur" is sometimes cited as one of, if not the best episode The Flash has made so far.
Smith clearly brought a thorough understanding of Barry Allen and a strong emotional core to that episode, and if he brings that to The Flash movie, we will certainly rest easy. Check out one of the best scenes from "The Runaway Dinosaur" below.
On the other hand, there are still a few concerns that would need to be addressed if we started taking the Clerks director seriously as a Flash contender. For starters, he is an incredibly polarizing director. He has developed a rabid fanbase over the years, but he has just as many detractors who don't necessarily gravitate towards his particular brand of filmmaking. It's also worth noting that his recent filmmaking endeavors haven't received the warmest welcome from critics, making it a risk to hand him the future of one of the DCEU's most famous characters. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, Kevin Smith has never handled a movie on a scale that The Flash would require. He has produced episodes of The Flash TV series, but getting behind the camera for the film would be exponentially more responsibility.
At this point, we will have to wait and see who Warner Bros. ultimately chooses to take on The Scarlet Speedster's first solo movie. For now, you can catch Barry Allen later this year when The Flash joins the rest of DC's best heroes in Zack Snyder's Justice League on November 17.
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