Just thirteen days to go before it opens in cinemas, a new article in Variety has gone into the unconventional rollout of “The Flash” marketing and dropped some major reveals as to where things stand with the film and franchise.
First up, the film’s star Ezra Miller has done no press for the movie and is only expected to make one low-profile appearance – at the Los Angeles premiere on June 12th where they’ll pose for photos rather than doing interviews.
Said premiere, the only one taking place, will not have the “standard press gauntlet”. However, the movie’s director Andy Muschietti and actors Ben Affleck, Sasha Calle and Michael Shannon are expected to show up (Michael Keaton is busy filming in London).
Miller, of course, was caught up in controversy following arrests and erratic behavior, but has stayed out of trouble since seeking treatment for “complex mental health issues” following “a time of intense crisis”.
A source indicates that Warners’ decision to throw one premiere only, just four days before the film’s release, has been done “to keep the ‘secret ending’ under wraps”.
Apparently, the version that screened at CinemaCon in April ended abruptly with “a chunk of the final scene missing”. At screenings on the Burbank lot this week, the final scene was intact, but Warners “blurred out key elements”.
Said final scene was reportedly changed multiple times pre-CinemaCon, and from the sounds of it is about giving Warners options for the future of this franchise.
Though not announced, the studio reportedly already has a finished sequel script from “Aquaman” scribe David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick ready. That script will see Keaton’s Batman and Calle’s Supergirl both return.
Warners is also hosting “The Flash” screenings in key cities like London, Toronto, Miami, Buenos Aires, Madrid and Sao Paolo. There will also be a massive word-of-mouth screening program with 400 screens showing it across the United States and Canada.
With a budget of around $190 million, the film will need to earn back coin, and tracking figures suggest it will, with the film now headed for an estimated $75 million domestic opening – putting it above that of 2018’s “Aquaman”.
“The Flash” opens in cinemas everywhere on June 16th.
