After a succession of filmmakers passed on the project – Phil Lord and Chris Miller, Seth Grahame-Smith and Rick Famuyiwa, specifically – Flashpoint finally nailed down its directors last month. The upcoming DC solo movie for Ezra Miller’s speedster will be helmed by Spider-Man: Homecoming writers John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein and in an interview with Collider, the duo broke their silence on their appointment and gave us our first hints as to what they’ll bring to Flashpoint.
Unsurprisingly, given the tone of Homecoming, Daley said that they were drawn to the character of Barry Allen because he’s a “ground-level” hero.
“Just the fact that the character is unique from other superheroes in that he doesn’t completely have his shit together like Superman does. It’s more of a ground-level superhero.”
Goldstein then made the connection to Marvel’s Spider-Man movie clear by adding that there’s a similar “relatable” quality to both the Flash and the webhead.
“It’s a relatable way in to a superhero movie in some of the same ways that Peter Parker was for the Marvel side of things.”
These are some interesting, and pretty unexpected, comments. For those who don’t know, Flashpoint is set to be based on the comic book event which sees Barry accidentally create a dark timeline in which the world has gone to seed. It’s a grand, sci-fi storyline that has ramifications for the whole DC universe. So, it’s not really the sort of thing you could call “ground-level” or particularly “relatable.”
That being said, it’s possible the directors just mean they’ll double down on making Ezra Miller’s Scarlet Speedster relatable in order to keep this huge story grounded. It’ll probably need that, too, as Flashpoint is expected to feature an unfamiliar version of Batman, if all those rumours about Jeffery Dean Morgan making his DCEU return are anything to go by.
To get a taste of John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein’s directing style, you can catch their latest movie – Game Night, starring Jason Bateman and Rachel McAdams – when it hits cinemas on February 23rd.