It’s time to talk about the rotting saga that is Ezra Miller. And the inevitable controversy that could devour both The Flash and Warner Bros. itself.
Miller has become a one person drama train the last few years and no one has enough time to recap their growing list of legal troubles. Suffice to say that whenever they’re in the news, Warner Bros. PR team is in for a lot of day drinking.
Sometimes it isn’t even for getting arrested (again) or getting charged (some more). Miller made headlines a few weeks ago for claiming they’re a messiah destined to marry a Lakota spider goddess and bring about the apocalypse. Not only is the spider goddess in question only 18 years old, but Miller has been grooming her since she was 12 (Miller was 23 when the two first met). Miller was actually on the run with her earlier this year and her parents had a restraining order against the actor. And if you think that’s bat guano crazy, it’s only the tip of the iceberg. Did we mention that Miller may run a cult out of a compound called “the Mountain” in Vermont (where Miller’s trial for larceny burglary just got underway)?
Miller’s self destruction is happening in real time and their complete annihilation seems inevitable. They are currently getting therapy but if even if they avoid conviction in Vermont (where they face over twenty possible years in prison) there is a host of other court dates in their near future. What happens with whatever cult nonsense going on in Vermont? When has being a cult leader ever ended well for anyone? And regardless of what happens with Miller’s legal problems, do they honestly think they’ll work in movies ever again? They’re as toxic as Harvey Weinstein and Kevin Spacey right now.
But this rant actually isn’t about Ezra Miller and their continuing spiral into oblivion. It’s about Warner Bros., the studio’s responsibility in this mess and its constant flirtation with disaster. Miller’s issues go back years-beginning with an incident where they choked a girl outside a bar in Iceland-but Warner ignored as much as they could and brushed everything else under the rug. They even made Miller a face in their (already troubled) DC film franchise despite the early red flags, and Miller is the star of The Flash solo movie currently slated for release next June (a movie that apparently reboots the DC Cinematic Universe, giving it a much needed new lease on life).
The argument that Warner’s current owners aren’t responsible for this mess is absolutely true. Miller was on the path of career suicide well before Discovery cut their first cheque to buy Warner. The decision to make Miller the Flash and then green light a solo movie was made years before Discovery came into Warner’s ownership picture.
But current Discovery-Warner boss David Zaslav did set a standard last summer by cancelling the HBO Max destined Batgirl movie. Batgirl hadn’t been completed and had a fluid release date when it became the first significant casualty of the “Axe of Zaslav.” With little to no warning, Warner put the brakes on the production and promptly threw the entire project into a vault, never to be seen again (Warner legally can’t release any footage as a condition of a tax break that sees them claim a twenty million dollar loss against Batgirl). The explanation was that Batgirl didn’t suit the brand Warner’s new corporate overlords were planning for DC.
But if Warner canceled Batgirl because they felt it could damage DC’s precious brand (a decision that received both praise and backlash online), how can it possibly release a major summer movie with Ezra Miller as the star? Because if it does, Warner Bros. goes from setting a precedent to creating a double standard.
(When this question came up-even when only a fraction of Miller’s problems were known-the common response was that The Flash was a good movie while Batgirl “sucked.” It’s true that Batgirl received dubious reactions from test screenings while The Flash apparently received positive feedback. But the question then became what movies did test audiences see? Batgirl still had a number of scenes to shoot and had plenty of FX that needed to be completed or polished. The Flash meanwhile had just undergone a series of reshoots and was close to a year from release because its FX were no where close to done. So what did test audiences see? What did base their opinions on? And didn’t Black Adam’s initial test screenings bode poorly for it? And it just raked in 67 million dollars at the box office).
Warner has reportedly invested over 200 million in The Flash so far while Batgirl came in at a rumoured 100 million or more when it was cancelled. But believe it or not, there is more than money at stake here and this decision could very well cost Warner more in the long run.
Warner canceled Batgirl because it didn’t think it would be good for the DC brand moving forward. Fair enough. But what does releasing The Flash, helmed by the deeply troubled and possibly incarcerated Ezra Miller do, for the DC brand? There’s a long nine months until The Flash is supposed to be released; what other trouble can Miller get into in that time? What other potentially embarrassing or horrific facts comes out during Miller’s current trial? What comes out in future court proceedings? What happens if it’s revealed Miller is guilty of sexually assaulting a minor? What if we find out that there is assault going on in whatever cult they’ve got going in Vermont, a cult that that expects to see Jesus marry a Lakotan Spider Goddess?
What will all of that do for the DC brand if Warner insists on releasing The Flash after they already set a precedent by cancelling Batgirl because quality?
But there’s more beyond The Flash’s release next summer. Word is the only reason Discovery bought Warner Bros. (and is “trimming the fat”) is to sell it for a profit to Universal. But the earliest those negotiations can begin is the spring of 2024, and the fallout of Miller’s multiple bombshells may still be unfolding by that point. How will all of this (and any potential future explosions) impact Warner’s share price? Will it still remain an attractive purchase in the eyes of Universal or any other potential suitor? If it does, what are the odds it will sell for a song and Discovery will wind up losing money? Would the DC franchise be able to recover, especially if The Flash bombs? What other corporate collateral damage could result?
There’s one other price tag Warner could find themselves facing in the near future as well. Remember when Scarlett Johanssen sued Disney because it looked like Mickey was violating her contract with the release of Black Widow? Remember when that fiasco caused the Russo brothers-who helmed Marvel’s three biggest movies-to admit it gave them cause to work with Disney in the future? What if Warner’s decision to release Miller’s The Flash coats DC in so much toxicity that talent on both sides of the camera begin to steer clear of the studio as a result. What happens if Warner’s rep takes such a hit that existing talent decides mixing their brand with DC’s is career suicide? What happens if people like Matt Reeves and Dwayne Johnson and James Gunn decide to take their acts on the road? Would any money The Flash makes next June be worth that possible exodus?
And the optics? Right now it’s beginning to look like Warner cancelled a movie with a Latina female lead because they didn’t like it while they are standing by a project with a white make lead who may be going to prison and could be guilty of sexually assaulting a minor. That narrative will see the light of day more the closer The Flash’s release date gets.
The worst part is Warner’s been to this dance before. The Secrets of Dumbledore failed in large part because of the fanbase’s increasing dissatisfaction with J.K. Rowling and the franchise’s decision to part ways with Johnny Depp. DC has a very loyal, very devoted fanbase, but it isn’t nearly big enough to save it from drowning. And right now Miller is a massive anchor around DC’s neck, an anchor that could well get heavier from here. Even Hollywood’s biggest life jacket won’t be able to help either Warner Bros. or the DC brand it has struggled to protect recently.
None of this ends well for Discovery-Warner. At best, The Flash is a mild success but nowhere near enough to justify the expense in dollars and sheer effort it’s already invested in the project (how much is Warner going to have to spend on top of the 200 plus million it already has to put a better face on this in the weeks leading up The Flash’s release?).
At worst Miller’s collapse paired with Warner’s stubborn hubris destroys what’s left of the DC brand (Black Adam’s debut proves DC may not have as much street cred left as both fans and studio suits would like), devalues the entire company (jeopardizing its potential sale a mere ten months later) and gets the storied studio on top of a lot of talent’s “do-not-work-with” list.
Warner Bros. is playing with fire and right now and it risks being burned alive instead of suffering some third degree burns. And if it goes down in flames, it will have no one to blame but itself. But at least it won’t have to worry about Batgirl tarnishing the DC brand.
