This was not supposed to happen. Even though The Flash, the latest film in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU), had many delays and behind-the-scenes obstacles, the solo film debut of the superfast DC hero had a lot going for it. From over-the-top praise from early screenings and the return of Michael Keaton as Batman, the film was expected to perform well in the box office when it premiered last week. Yet, here we are with the film being a massive box office flop that could not even earn $70 million in the U.S. for its opening weekend and with even more dismal earnings expected this weekend. No mistake here, folks. The limping and wounded DCEU cannot be salvaged in any form because of the failure of The Flash.

It is all too easy to blame the failure of The Flash to superhero film fatigue, but that is just an easy answer. After all, Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3, and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse performed very well when they premiered earlier this year. So, what happened? It will take some time to determine what went wrong, but for now here are some reasons as to why The Flash was a dud in theaters.

Bad DCEU Reputation

Let’s face it, although the DCEU has had a few great films, too many of them had problems when it came to quality. After Shazam! In 2019, the DCEU films that followed, with the exceptions of The Suicide Squad and Zack Snyder’s Justice League, were ravaged by fans and critics. They also performed poorly in the box office, especially The Suicide Squad. In fact, the last DCEU film that was a bonafide hit was Aquaman, which was back in 2018. The recent failures gave the cinematic universe a poor reputation that caught up to it and left The Flash with an insurmountable obstacle.

Adding to the poor reputation was that The Flash starred Ezra Miller, an actor who has gotten into trouble for alleged criminal activities, a lot of it was violent. Ordinarily, Miller would have been and should have been fired from the role, but the film studio, Warner Bros. did not recast the role. Instead, the film proceeded with Miller continuing to play the title superhero because it was not financially feasible to restart production with another actor. Miller’s toxic behavior turned off many fans who refused to pay money to see the film since doing so would in a sense condone Miller’s actions.

Overhype & Missed Opportunities

With the recent failed DCEU films, The Flash was seen as the last, best hope for the DCEU. It had many hurdles to overcome, but the film’s team got through them. There was some hope for the film as early screening reactions were positive. Celebrities like Tom Cruise and Stephen King raved about the film. There was excitement over Keaton’s return and promises of cameos from past DC films and TV shows since the film dealt with the multiverse.

Unfortunately, while The Flash is one of the best DCEU offerings and a solid superhero film, it had its share of issues, such as its script. Without going too much into spoilers, why didn’t the Flash use his time travel powers to find out who killed his mother? Also, at the end of the film, it’s clear that the superhero did not learn the hard lesson about interfering with time based on what he did at the end.

Also, some of the special effects were downright awful. How bad? Arrowverse bad! Speaking of the Arrowverse, it is puzzling why the film did not feature an appearance by Grant Gustin, who played the Flash for several years on TV or even John Wesley Shipp, who played the superhero in the early ‘90s. In the TV version of The Flash, Ezra Miller appeared briefly and met the Grant Gustin version of the Flash. So, why wasn’t Gustin in the film?

Premature DCU Announcement & Insulted Fans

According to some reports, The Flash had different endings, including one that featured Henry Cavill and Gal Gadot as Superman and Wonder Woman, respectively. Early in the film, both heroes were erased from existence after the Flash time traveled and changed history. In one alternate ending, Cavill and Gadot were supposed to appear, but that ending was deleted in favor of one that showed George Clooney. Clearly this was supposed to be a sight gag, but it left many viewers scratching their heads. Was the Flash in another universe? Is Clooney the new Batman instead of Ben Affleck or Michael Keaton?

Supposedly, the new film executives running the DC films and TV shows, James Gunn and Peter Safran were responsible for the final ending. The two had been hired to right the sinking DCEU ship, but the brand has been too severely damaged. It was decided to reboot the DCEU as the DC Universe (DCU) and start fresh.  

Unfortunately, this means that many things that worked for the DCEU were tossed out, including Cavill and Gadot, who will have their roles recast. James Gunn made this announcement in January of this year, which infuriated some fans who felt that Cavill and others like filmmaker Zack Snyder were being insulted. They too felt insulted because to them it seemed like Gunn completely disregarded them. Many of them refused to support any more films from the DCEU or with the DCU. Others saw no point in seeing the DCEU films scheduled for this year, since these film universes will be discarded. Supposedly, The Flash was going to be used to reboot the DCEU, but this was not clearly shown in the final product. What could have been a cinematic bridge between two universes instead turned into a confusing mess.

So, what now? At this point, the DCEU has to end. Each failure diminishes the brand of DC superheroes more and more. The next DC-related film to be released is Blue Beetle, which Gunn has said takes place in the DCU, but the official debut of the DCU will be with his film, Superman: Legacy. Already, this is confusing and seems like a panicked reaction by Warner Bros. Perhaps they can get away with this if they are able to remove all references of the DCEU in Blue Beetle. But this cannot work with Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. That sequel to Aquaman has reportedly tested poorly and leaves Warner Bros. with a dilemma. Should they just skip a theatrical release?  Most likely it will be full steam ahead for Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom but after that the film studio should take a long break from a shared DC superhero film universe. Gunn and Safron should be given ample time to retool the DCU and make it the best possible film universe because they have to succeed. Otherwise, it will be a very long time before we see any of our favorite DC characters onscreen, aside from Batman.

José Soto