What Happens to Ezra Miller Now After ‘The Flash’?

Editor’s Note: The following references violence and abuse

The Big Picture

• Despite their personal troubles and legal issues, Ezra Miller’s performance as The Flash has been widely acclaimed, despite the movie struggling at the box office.
• Director Andy Muschietti and Warner Bros. Discovery seem supportive of Miller, acknowledging their mental health issues and commitment to getting better.
• The decision on whether to keep Miller in the role of The Flash or recast it will depend on Warner Bros. Discovery’s evaluation of their recovery and ability to avoid future incidents that would impact the studio.

After a long road filled with drama that had little to do with the movie itself, The Flash finally arrived in theaters on June 16. While the intitial reviews were fairly positive, it was a dud at the box office, making just a mere $108 million domestically. Outside of the excitement that comes with seeing Michael Keaton as Batman again, all the talk had been about the actor behind the titular hero. Ezra Miller has been great in the role of Barry Allen, aka The Flash, ever since donning the red suit in 2016’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

Then came a long string of personal problems for Ezra Miller that found them in major trouble. Soon, Miller went from an actor to build a franchise around to a liability. Through the mess, The Flash has stayed the course. Now that it’s made it to the finish line though, what should be done about Ezra Miller? Can they find redemption or is it time to let Ezra Miller go and recast the role? With James Gunn now in control of DC’s film and television divisions, we’ve already seen big moves, such as the recasting of Superman. Could the recasting of The Flash be next?

What Is Ezra Miller’s Long History of Legal Trouble?

At the age of 30, Ezra Miller has been acting for half their life. It was in 2011 and 2012 when they really took off with roles as the creepy school mass murderer Kevin Khatchadourian in We Need to Talk About Kevin and Patrick in The Perks of Being a Wallflower. With their indie cred, Ezra Miller was a great choice to play The Flash, an actor who could give a performance with their face half hidden, but who also wasn’t so famous that we saw the real person and not the character they were portraying in a movie. Miller’s Flash appeared in three DCU movies before being given their own film. Ezra Miller was ready to break out as a megastar but then came a bizarre string of incidents that have left their career barely intact.

The troubles for Miller first started in April 2020. It was then that they were accused of choking a woman at a bar in Iceland. In January of last year came a strange Instagram video where Miller urged Ku Klux Klan members to kill themselves. Two months later, Miller was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct for the scene they caused twice at a karaoke bar in Hawaii. The same month a restraining order was filed against Miller due to some threats they made, though later the person filing the order dropped the request. In April 2022, Miller was arrested after throwing a chair that hit a woman in the head at a Hawaii bar. In the summer came accusations from parents that Miller was grooming their pre-teen children. In August, Miller was charged with burglary after breaking into a home in Vermont. Then, also in August, Vermont Police attempted to serve an emergency care order after finding out that Miller had a woman and her three small children staying with them at their home. In January, Miller was sentenced to one-year probation for the Vermont burglary incident.

Andy Muschietti Praises Ezra Miller’s The Flash Performance

Ezra Miller has mostly laid low, only appearing at a red carpet premiere for The Flash. The best thing has been for them to stay invisible. In August of last year, as Miller’s legal issues grew, Deadline reported that Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav was considering firing Miller and recasting the role of The Flash. Soon after, Miller released a statement to PEOPLE saying, “Having recently gone through a time of intense crisis, I now understand that I am suffering complex mental health issues and have begun ongoing treatment. I want to apologize to everyone that I have alarmed and upset with my past behavior. I am committed to doing the necessary work to get back to a healthy, safe and productive stage in my life.” Outside of that, Miller has remained out of the public eye.

The Flash director Andy Muschietti has spoken about Ezra Miller. In an April Q&A, Muschietti said, “Ezra is well now. We’re all hoping that they get better… They’re taking the steps to recovery. They’re dealing with mental health issues, but they’re well. We talked to them not too long ago, and they’re very committed to getting better.” In May, Muschietti was directly asked by The Discourse if there were plans to recast Miller. “I don’t think there’s anyone that can play that character as well as they did,” Muschietti said. “The other depictions of the character are great, but this particular vision of the character, they just excelled in doing it.” It wasn’t a direct answer of whether Miller should stay on board and if there had been talks of letting them go, but Muschietti’s comments show that he is supportive of Miller. If he is, then Warner Bros. Discovery is probably feeling the same, with the hope that the worst of their troubles are behind them.

Can Ezra Miller Keep Their Job in the DC Universe?

So what happens with Ezra Miller now? The Flash came and went, and it didn’t do too well financially. Was that part of our collective superhero fatigue or the public’s negative feeling toward Miller? Does Warner Bros. Discovery give them another chance or cut their losses and move on from the drama and recast the role? There’s an argument to be made for both. It’s evident that Miller is experiencing some mental health issues that may have been beyond their control at the time. That doesn’t justify what they did, and they should definitely be held responsible and punished if found guilty on their other charges, but if Miller is truly getting help and comes out the other side of this a changed person, then maybe their career can be saved.

There’s also the choice of just letting Miller go. The damage is done, and superheroes are recast all the time. We’ve just went through a successful Batman recast from Ben Affleck to Robert Pattinson. A few years ago, we went from seeing Jared Leto to Joaquin Phoenix as The Joker. And now Henry Cavill is out as Superman. Those are all household names, whereas Ezra Miller is not. If them and their characters, who are also bigger than The Flash, can be changed, then there’s no reason why The Flash couldn’t easily be recast. Certainly, most fans would understand, unlike the negativity surrounding the Cavill decision.

Marvel Is in a Similar Situation With Jonathan Majors’ Kang the Conqueror

Marvel Studios find themselves in a very similar situation. Jonathan Majors received rave reviews for his role as the villain Kang in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. There was talk of him quickly playing the role again, especially as Majors’ star only grew even bigger with the attention he received for Creed III. Then came March 25, when Majors was arrested for physically assaulting his girlfriend. Soon after, his manager and PR firm dropped him. Majors is still undergoing legal proceedings, and he is yet to be convicted of any crime. Meanwhile, Marvel Studios has to decide what role Jonathan Majors has in the MCU. Do they let the court proceedings play out, then go from there? If Majors is charged and found guilty, he is surely out. Until then, they have chosen to wait and see it seems.

Ezra Miller was charged and found guilty of a crime. Still, they have a job, at least for now. No decision has been announced by James Gunn or anyone else on whether they will return or not. If Miller is to save their career and their role as The Flash, it will be because their bosses look at their legal troubles more as a mental health issue than one of character. If Miller acts again in the DCU it will be a notable Hollywood comeback. Warner Bros. Discovery has to be thoroughly convinced of their recovery first. If Ezra Miller is kept on and announced for another Flash movie, only to then be arrested for something else, Warner Bros. Discovery will have to live with their decision. They won’t be able to run away fast enough from that.

The Flash is available to stream on Max in the U.S.

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