History Trivia / TheFlash2023

* ContentLeak: An outline of the film was released onto the Internet years before its final release, similar to the leak that happened with ''Film/WonderWoman1984'', and contained every major plot detail in the final release, barring some absences such as [[spoiler:Aquaman's final cameo]] not being present.

* BoxOfficeBomb: Budget: $200-220 million [[note]] Some sources even put it as high as $300 million [[/note]] (plus another $120-150 million for marketing, likely requiring a $500 million gross ''at minimum'' just to break even). Worldwide box office: $269 million. In North America, the movie suffered from a miserable opening weekend with [[FromBadToWorse a massive 73% drop the next week]], and it's [[https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/1299743-the-flash-may-lose-wb-200-million-after-box-office-flop expected to lose Warner Bros. Discovery as much as $200 million]], putting it among the likes of ''Film/TheLoneRanger2013'', ''Film/JohnCarter'', and ''Film/MortalEngines'' as one of the biggest and most costly bombs ''ever''. The movie had the misfortune of multiple factors working against it: [[SoOkayItsAverage mediocre reviews]], [[TaintedByThePreview infamously]] bad special effects in a genre that relies heavily on visual spectacle, the problematic behavior of its main star preventing them from promoting the film, an ongoing writers' strike which barred the remainder of the cast from promoting the film in traditional press junkets on late night TV shows, having to compete in a crowded summer with other tentpole releases (including against an acclaimed superhero film that also used TheMultiverse, ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManAcrossTheSpiderVerse''), the severe erosion of public confidence in DCEU films since ''Film/{{Aquaman|2018}}'' (''Flash'' was the '''sixth''' consecutive bomb in the series[[note]]In fairness, many of these films' box office returns were severely affected by COVID-19 and WB's 2021 theatrical strategy that released their films on both HBO MAX and theaters. As such, it's impossible to know how these films might have performed under normal circumstances. Although comparisons to other films with the same disadvantages - most obviously WB's own ''Godzilla vs Kong'' - suggest that at least in some cases the films' quality dragged their numbers down and it wasn't ''just'' COVID.[[/note]]), a nostalgia-centric marketing campaign that heavily relied on promoting the film's legacy cameos that [[UncertainAudience was seen as conspicuously dissonant with what modern audiences were expecting]], and [[TheFireflyEffect audience apathy in light of the upcoming DC movie universe reboot]] by Creator/JamesGunn. The film's worldwide box office likely didn't even cover the marketing costs after the theaters' take is factored in, meaning Warner Bros. would have lost significantly less money if they had pulled a ''Batgirl'' and cancelled the film during post-production and used it as a tax write-off, or released it direct-to-streaming on Creator/{{Max}}.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
** Creator/RyanKwanten, Creator/MatthewFox and Creator/ScottPorter were considered for the part of [[Comicbook/TheFlash Barry Allen]] before Creator/EzraMiller was cast.
** Music/RitaOra and Creator/LucyBoynton screen-tested for the role of Iris West before the casting of Creator/KierseyClemons.
** Creator/RachelZegler and Creator/BrunaMarquezine auditioned for the part of Comicbook/{{Supergirl}} before Creator/SashaCalle was cast. Zegler and Marquezine would eventually go on to portray Anthea and Jenny in ''Film/ShazamFuryOfTheGods'' and ''{{Film/Blue Beetle|2023}}'' respectively.
** Creator/PhilLordAndChrisMiller were the first choice to direct the movie before Creator/AndresMuschietti was hired. However, Lord and Miller turned down the offer due to scheduling commitments to ''Literature/{{Artemis}}''.
*** [[Film/AbrahamLincolnVampireHunter Seth Grahame-Smith]], [[Film/{{Dope}} Rick Famuyiwa]] and [[Film/{{Vacation}} John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein]] were each set to direct the film during pre-production, but dropped out of the project citing Main/CreativeDifferences over the script.
*** Creator/RobertZemeckis, Creator/MatthewVaughn, Creator/JordanPeele, Creator/SamRaimi and [[Film/TheAmazingSpiderMan Marc Webb]] had discussions to direct the movie as well before Muschietti was hired. Zemeckis was previously approached to helm ''Film/ManOfSteel'' before Creator/ZackSnyder was hired.
*** Creator/WarnerBros also briefly reached out to Creator/BenAffleck about directing the film before he decided to solely reprise his role as [[Franchise/{{Batman}} Bruce Wayne]] in it instead.
** Creator/JeffreyDeanMorgan (Thomas Wayne in ''Film/BatmanVSupermanDawnOfJustice'') expressed interest in playing Flashpoint Batman (and Creator/LaurenCohan -- Martha Wayne in the same film -- was likely to be his Joker) before the decision was made to instead use Creator/MichaelKeaton's Batman.
** Creator/RayFisher was intended to reprise his role as Cyborg in multiple iterations of the script, with several early drafts featuring him as a co-lead. Over the course of development, the Cyborg role was decreased in prominence as the scale and focus of the movie shifted, but the character was still meant to be present. Fisher later spoke out about production issues with the reshoots of ''Film/{{Justice League|2017}}'', claiming multiple people enabled [[HostilityOnTheSet on-set abuse]], which was subsequently investigated. Fisher later accused Walter Hamada -- who took over Creator/DCFilms after ''Justice League'', a film which he had no involvement in, and set up the investigation -- of covering up for several parties (including then-DC Films head Creator/GeoffJohns and WB executive Toby Emmerich) after only reshoot director Creator/JossWhedon was found to be at fault by an impartial judge. After Fisher publicly announced that he would never work on anything produced by Hamada on social media (who had his contract re-upped days after the statement, though following the heavy restructuring by Creator/WarnerBrosDiscovery, Hamada would announce to step down after the release of ''Film/{{Black Adam|2022}}''), it was confirmed via the press that Fisher would be written out of ''The Flash'', with the role not being recast for the film. Fisher also reportedly could not come to an agreement to the finances of his appearance prior to turning down the project.
** As mentioned above, Creator/BillyCrudup was set to reprise his role as Henry Allen until scheduling meant that he couldn't appear, making a replacement actor necessary.
** [[Script/JusticeLeague2 Zack Snyder's outline]] for the second and third ''Justice League'' movies in a planned five-movie story arc suggested that Captain Cold would've been part of the film as a major villain, and would later be recruited by Lex Luthor as a member of the LegionOfDoom after having been imprisoned at the end of ''The Flash''.
** The ''Batgirl'' film directed by Creator/AdilElArbiAndBilallFallah that got cancelled in post-production by Creator/WarnerBrosDiscovery in August 2022 was supposed to follow up on this film with Creator/MichaelKeaton as Batman once again, as was a proposed ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'' film that would've seen Keaton's Bruce Wayne mentoring [[LegacyCharacter Terry McGinnis]] and reuniting with Creator/MichellePfeiffer's Selina Kyle.
** It was reported that, had Creator/EzraMiller not stopped their controversial behavior and cleaned up their act, Warner Bros. might have pulled the unprecedented move of ''scrapping the film altogether'', in spite of sinking nearly $300 million into it, similar to what ended up happening to the ''Batgirl'' film that got cancelled in post-production in August 2022. Given the film's final fate as a BoxOfficeBomb, many analysts suggest they probably should have.
** As mentioned above, Creator/HenryCavill's ComicBook/{{Superman}} was meant to cameo in the film after Walter Hamada was ousted from his role as the head of DC Films and after Cavill returned in TheStinger of ''Film/{{Black Adam|2022}}'', but his scene wound up being cut after Creator/JamesGunn took over Creator/DCStudios and Cavill subsequently exited the franchise. [[spoiler: However, a [=CGI=] recreation of Cavill winds up appearing in Barry's first travel back through time.]]
** The Muschietti siblings [[https://nerdist.com/article/the-flash-final-cameos-no-lynda-carter-grant-gustin-cesar-romero-marlon-brando/ had a large list of cameos]] considered for the film, but a few that didn't make it into the film were Creator/LyndaCarter reprising her titular role from ''Series/{{Wonder Woman|1975}}'', Creator/GrantGustin reprising his role as [[Characters/ArrowverseBarryAllen Barry Allen]] from ''Series/{{The Flash|2014}}'' and even Creator/MarlonBrando's Jor-El from ''Film/SupermanTheMovie'' and both Creator/CesarRomero's [[Characters/Batman1966RoguesGallery Joker]] and Creator/BurgessMeredith's [[Characters/Batman1966RoguesGallery Penguin]] from the {{camp}}y ''Series/{{Batman|1966}}'' series of TheSixties, though those three would have likely been featured through StockFootage due to the actors having passed away long ago. [[spoiler: Romero's Joker does end up making an appearance in the final film, via archive audio.]]
*** According to Andy Muschietti, [[spoiler:Creator/AdamWest's cameo was [[https://www.cbr.com/the-flash-movie-abandoned-dc-cameos/ nearly axed]] but he fought against that because of his personal love for ''Series/{{Batman|1966}}'' due to how often he and his sister Barbara saw the show's reruns in their native Argentina.]]
** Due to the purchase of WB by Discovery that occurred while the film was in production, three separate ending scenes wound up being shot:
*** In the original ending, [[spoiler:Barry returned home after seemingly resetting the timeline, only to discover Supergirl and the Michael Keaton version of Bruce Wayne at the courthouse, with the two implicitly having replaced Superman and the Ben Affleck Batman in the CloseEnoughTimeline. This was meant to set the two up to appear in future movies such as ''Batgirl'', where Keaton was supposed to reprise his role.]]
*** After WB was purchased and Walter Hamada exited the company, [[spoiler:the ending was redone to add appearances from Henry Cavill as Superman and Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman at the courthouse, establishing that Superman still existed despite Supergirl and the Keaton Batman now being part of the DCEU. The scene was shot in secret alongside Cavill's ''Film/{{Black Adam|2022}}'' cameo in anticipation of a potential ''Man of Steel'' sequel.]]
*** After Creator/JamesGunn and Peter Safran became the new co-heads of DC Studios, [[spoiler:all of the previous courthouse cameos were axed due to the impending reboot, with Gunn planning to completely recast Superman and Batman for ''Superman: Legacy'' and ''The Brave and the Bold'', respectively. With neither Keaton nor Affleck planned to stick around as Batman, the decision was made to bring back George Clooney as another alternate Bruce Wayne in order to maintain the BaitAndSwitch premise of the original ending, albeit with a different outcome]].
*** Earlier screenings had a slightly different version where [[spoiler: the Bruce Wayne that Barry sees isn't shown onscreen, with an immediate cut to black after having the same reaction. This is likely because of the tumultuous production leaving which Batman it would be up in the air.]]
** TheStinger for the original film was changed as well. [[spoiler:Originally, it was supposed to feature Barry trying to explain the timeline changes to a drunken Aquaman, who would act as though he'd known Supergirl for quite some time and had never heard of Superman, cementing that Superman had been erased from the timeline. Upon returning home, Barry would find an S.O.S. message from the Ben Affleck version of Batman, who had been misplaced in the multiverse due to Barry's actions. All of this was meant to eventually lead to a film adaptation of ''Comicbook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths'', with Affleck presumably returning as Batman one more time alongside Michael Keaton. While the scene with Affleck was filmed, it was ultimately cut from the movie, with the theatrical release instead using an altered version of the the conversation between Barry and Arthur as the post-credit scene.]]
** Had Creator/ZackSnyder remained a part of [=DCEU=], [[spoiler: Nora Allen's killer would have been revealed to be the [[Characters/TheFlashEobardThawne Reverse-Flash]], and he would have been TheManBehindTheMan for many of the franchise's villains.]]
** There was also reports around January 2023 that WB had reached out to Creator/ChristianBale to possibly reprise his role as his Batman from ''Film/TheDarkKnightTrilogy'' for a possible cameo, but it was likely turned down, as Bale has stated he would only don the cape again if Christopher Nolan was involved. Considering the reports was around the same time the last of re-shoots took place with the reshot ending, including [[spoiler:George Clooney's Bruce Wayne]], it's very likely this surprise cameo was intended for Christian Bale had he accepted.

* BoxOfficeBomb: Budget: $200-220 million [[note]] Some sources even put it as high as $300 million [[/note]] (plus another $120-150 million for marketing, likely requiring a $500 million gross ''at minimum'' just to break even). Worldwide box office: $269 million. In North America, the movie suffered from a miserable opening weekend with [[FromBadToWorse a massive 73% drop the next week]], and it's [[https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/1299743-the-flash-may-lose-wb-200-million-after-box-office-flop expected to lose Warner Brothers Discovery as much as $200 million]], putting it among the likes of ''Film/TheLoneRanger2013'', ''Film/JohnCarter'', and ''Film/MortalEngines'' as one of the biggest and most costly bombs ''ever''. The movie had the misfortune of multiple factors working against it: [[SoOkayItsAverage mediocre reviews]], [[TaintedByThePreview infamously]] bad special effects in a genre that relies heavily on visual spectacle, the problematic behavior of its main star preventing them from promoting the film, an ongoing writers' strike which barred the remainder of the cast from promoting the film in traditional press junkets on late night TV shows, having to compete in a crowded summer with other tentpole releases (including against an acclaimed superhero film that also used TheMultiverse, ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManAcrossTheSpiderVerse''), the severe erosion of public confidence in DCEU films since ''Film/{{Aquaman|2018}}'' (''Flash'' was the '''sixth''' consecutive bomb in the series[[note]]In fairness, many of these films' box office returns were severely affected by COVID-19 and WB's 2021 theatrical strategy that released their films on both HBO MAX and theaters. As such, it's impossible to know how these films might have performed under normal circumstances. Although comparisons to other films with the same disadvantages - most obviously WB's own ''Godzilla vs Kong'' - suggest that at least in some cases the films' quality dragged their numbers down and it wasn't ''just'' COVID.[[/note]]), a nostalgia-centric marketing campaign that heavily relied on promoting the film's legacy cameos that [[UncertainAudience was seen as conspicuously dissonant with what modern audiences were expecting]], and [[TheFireflyEffect audience apathy in light of the upcoming DC movie universe reboot]] by Creator/JamesGunn. The film's worldwide box office likely didn't even cover the marketing costs after the theaters' take is factored in, meaning Warner Bros. would have lost significantly less money if they had pulled a ''Batgirl'' and cancelled the film during post-production and used it as a tax write-off, or released it direct-to-streaming on Creator/{{Max}}.

* OvershadowedByControversy : From the moment the film was announced, audience interest was lukewarm due to several factors which compounded as time passed, so that it largely couldn't shake off the negativity surrounding it and wound up being one of DC's most expensive flops:
** The film was part of the [[BrokenBase very divisive]] DCEU, with Creator/EzraMiller's Flash being based on the modern take on Barry Allen instead of his successor Wally West, which has been a sticking point for DC fans since this take on Barry is a BaseBreakingCharacter. Apart from that, Miller's portrayal of Barry in both versions of ''Justice League'' was one of the more divisive points of those movies.
** Even for those more receptive to Miller's Barry, the behind-the-scenes drama for the movie and the DCEU at large, like the years it spent in DevelopmentHell trying to lock down directors and scripts, only soured impatient fans waiting for the film to finally come out, and contributed to the DCEU's poor reputation so that many were skeptical the movie would be any good.
** For DC fans, once it was confirmed that it was not simply going to be a Flash solo film but rather a very loose adaptation of ''ComicBook/{{Flashpoint|DC Comics}}''[[note]]Which had already been [[WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueTheFlashpointParadox adapted]] [[Series/TheFlash2014 twice]] by that point[[/note]] featuring the Creator/BenAffleck[[note]]In what was advertised in his final time in the role, itself bittersweet due to him being burnt out from the part after the behind-the-scenes troubles of ''Film/JusticeLeague2017'' and his solo film being retooled into ''Film/TheBatman2022'' as a result[[/note]] and Creator/MichaelKeaton iterations of Batman ''and'' a new take on Supergirl, it was seen as little more than a means to revamp the struggling DCEU instead of letting Flash stand on his own merits. This is because ''Flashpoint'' notoriously led to DC's surprise line-wide reboot, ComicBook/TheNew52 universe, and it was well-publicized that the movie would do the same for the DCEU.
** When the film finally did come out, it was well-publicized long before its release that Creator/JamesGunn was already resetting the DCEU for a new franchise, the "DCU", on a scale beyond even the ''previous'' DCEU revamp plans, beginning with dropping most, if not all DCEU stuff from continuity and recasting Superman and Lois Lane, so while Gunn and others claimed the film would be how the change happens, it was seen as [[TheFireflyEffect a dead end narratively]] for the DCEU. And it turned out that the film [[LyingCreator didn't]] really set up the DCU in any case, leading to more bad word of mouth from those who [[JustHereForGodzilla went to see it for that]].
** By the time the movie came out, it was by then yet another multiversal story after several such big movie and TV projects were released during its long development period, leading to the movie getting more unfavorable notices and word of mouth in comparison with those, on top of being seen or dismissed as "more of the same", further turning away more of the potential audience.
** A year before the movie released, lead actor Creator/EzraMiller was involved in several high profile legal scandals that led many fans to refuse to attend the film in theaters due to Miller's involvement.

* OvershadowedByControversy : From the moment the film was announced, audience interest was lukewarm due to several factors which compounded as time passed, so that it was largely couldn't shake the negativity surrounding it and wound up being one of DC's most expensive flops:

* BoxOfficeBomb: Budget: $200-220 million [[note]] Some sources even put it as high as $300 million [[/note]] (plus another $120-150 million for marketing, likely requiring a $500 million gross ''at minimum'' just to break even). Worldwide box office: $269 million. In North America, the movie suffered from a miserable opening weekend with [[FromBadToWorse a massive 73% drop the next week]], and it's [[https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/1299743-the-flash-may-lose-wb-200-million-after-box-office-flop expected to lose Warner Brothers Discovery as much as $200 million]], putting it among the likes of ''Film/TheLoneRanger2013'', ''Film/JohnCarter'', and ''Film/MortalEngines'' as one of the biggest and most costly bombs ''ever''. The movie had the misfortune of multiple factors working against it: [[SoOkayItsAverage mediocre reviews]], [[TaintedByThePreview infamously]] bad special effects in a genre that relies heavily on visual spectacle, the problematic behavior of its main star preventing them from promoting the film, an ongoing writers' strike which barred the remainder of the cast from promoting the film in traditional press junkets on late night TV shows, having to compete in a crowded summer with other tentpole releases (including against an acclaimed superhero film that also used TheMultiverse, ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManAcrossTheSpiderVerse''), the severe erosion of public confidence in DCEU films since ''Film/{{Aquaman|2018}}'' (''Flash'' was the '''sixth''' consecutive bomb in the series[[note]]In fairness, many of these films' box office returns were severely affected by COVID-19 and WB's 2021 theatrical strategy that released their films on both HBO MAX and theaters. As such, it's impossible to know how these films might have performed under normal circumstances. Although comparisons to other films with the same disadvantages - most obviously WB's own ''Godzilla vs Kong'' - heavily suggest the films' quality dragged their numbers down and it wasn't ''just'' COVID.[[/note]]), a nostalgia-centric marketing campaign that heavily relied on promoting the film's legacy cameos that [[UncertainAudience was seen as conspicuously dissonant with what modern audiences were expecting]], and [[TheFireflyEffect audience apathy in light of the upcoming DC movie universe reboot]] by Creator/JamesGunn. The film's worldwide box office likely didn't even cover the marketing costs after the theaters' take is factored in, meaning Warner Bros. would have lost significantly less money if they had pulled a ''Batgirl'' and cancelled the film during post-production and used it as a tax write-off, or released it direct-to-streaming on Creator/{{Max}}.

*** Earlier screenings had a slightly different version where [[spoiler: the Bruce Wayne that Barry sees isn't shown onscreen, with an immediate cut to black after having the same reaction. Implying it to be the Batman set to appear in ''The Brave and the Bold''.]]

* DisownedAdaptation: Creator/TimBurton wasn't a fan of [[spoiler: his un-used Superman's inclusion]]. The failure of that production is still something Burton regrets, and he didn't like that it was included essentially as an in-joke. He also resented his version of Batman being appropriated the way it was.

*** After Creator/JamesGunn and Peter Safran were installed as the new co-heads of DC Studios, [[spoiler:all of the previous courthouse cameos were axed due to the impending reboot, with Gunn planning to completely recast Superman and Batman for ''Superman: Legacy'' and ''The Brave and the Bold'', respectively. With neither Keaton nor Affleck planned to stick around as Batman, the decision was made to bring back George Clooney as another alternate Bruce Wayne in order to maintain the BaitAndSwitch premise of the original ending, albeit with a different outcome]].

** Had Creator/ZackSnyder remained a part of [=DCEU=], [[spoiler: Nora Allen's killer would have been revealed to be the Reverse-Flash, and he would have been TheManBehindTheMan for many of the franchise's villains.]]

** Creator/TimBurton wasn't a fan of [[spoiler: his un-used Superman's inclusion]]. The failure of that production is still something Burton regrets, and he didn't like that it was included essentially as an in-joke. He also resented his version of Batman being appropriated the way it was.
-->"They can take what you did, Batman or whatever, and culturally misappropriate it, or whatever you want to call it. Even though you’re a slave of Disney or Warner Brothers, they can do whatever they want. So in my latter years of life, I’m in quiet revolt against all this.”

* LyingCreator: In early 2023, Creator/DCStudios head Creator/JamesGunn [[https://www.empireonline.com/movies/news/the-flash-movie-will-reset-dcu-james-gunn-confirms/ said]] that the movie will be used to [[ContinuityReboot reboot]] the continuity of the franchise ahead of the new ''DC Universe'' slate of films and TV shows. As it turned out in practice... it was not. The status quo the movie ends up with is clearly not one the upcoming DCU will be beholden to, so it's basically irrelevant to the reboot. Most tellingly, the movie resulted in [[spoiler:George Clooney as Bruce Wayne/Batman]], clearly a gag instead of establishing stuff for the DCU.

* BoxOfficeBomb: Budget: $200-220 million [[note]] Some sources even put it as high as $300 million [[/note]] (plus another $120-150 million for marketing, likely requiring a $500 million gross ''at minimum'' just to break even). Worldwide box office: $269 million. In North America, the movie suffered from a miserable opening weekend with [[FromBadToWorse a massive 73% drop the next week]], and it's [[https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/1299743-the-flash-may-lose-wb-200-million-after-box-office-flop expected to lose Warner Brothers Discovery as much as $200 million]], putting it among the likes of ''Film/TheLoneRanger2013'', ''Film/JohnCarter'', and ''Film/MortalEngines'' as one of the biggest and most costly bombs ''ever''. The movie had the misfortune of multiple factors working against it: [[SoOkayItsAverage mediocre reviews]], [[TaintedByThePreview infamously]] bad special effects in a genre that relies heavily on visual spectacle, the problematic behavior of its main star preventing them from promoting the film, an ongoing writers' strike which barred the remainder of the cast from promoting the film in traditional press junkets on late night TV shows, having to compete in a crowded summer with other tentpole releases (including against an acclaimed superhero film that also used TheMultiverse, ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManAcrossTheSpiderVerse''), the severe erosion of public confidence in DCEU films since ''Film/{{Aquaman|2018}}'' (''Flash'' was the '''sixth''' consecutive bomb in the series[[note]]In fairness, many of these films' box office returns were severely affected by COVID-19 and WB's 2021 theatrical strategy that released their films on both HBO MAX and theaters. As such, it's impossible to know how these films might have performed under normal circumstances. Although comparisons to other films with the same disadvantages - most obviously WB's own ''Godzilla vs Kong'' - heavily suggest the films' quality dragged their numbers down and it wasn't ''just'' COVID.[[/note]]), a nostalgia-centric marketing campaign that heavily relied on promoting the film's legacy cameos that [[UncertainAudience was seen as conspicuously dissonant with what modern audiences were expecting]], and [[TheFireflyEffect audience apathy in light of the upcoming DC movie universe reboot]] by Creator/JamesGunn. The film's worldwide box office likely didn't even cover the marketing costs after the theaters' take is factored in, meaning Warner Bros. would have lost significantly less money if they had pulled a ''Batgirl'' and cancelled the film during post-production and used it as a tax write-off, or released it direct-to-streaming on Creator/{{Max}}. Surprisingly though, it might not even be the biggest superhero bomb of 2023, with ''Film/{{The Marvels|2023}}'' providing [[MedalOfDishonor "strong competition"]] in that department.