Posted in: CW, Movies, Opinion, TV, TV, Warner Bros | Tagged: arrowverse, ezra miller, grant gustin, opinion, The Flash

The Flash: Yet Another Grant Gustin/Arrowverse Missed Opportunity

Ezra Miller's The Flash was also a short-term & long-term financial missed opportunity when it comes to Grant Gustin & the Arrowverse.

We're not looking to beat an issue to death, so we promise that this will be my last thought on the whole thing. Probably. Maybe. Okay, there's a good chance that it won't be, but let's pretend that it is – cool? No matter where your thoughts land when it comes to the Andy Muschietti-directed, Ezra Miller-starring The Flash, it would be very safe to say that the film was a major box-office disappointment. And even though it's technically not a part of DC Studios co-heads James Gunn & Peter Safran's "New DCU," it doesn't exactly make the road ahead any easier for what they have planned (Creature Commandos, Superman: Legacy, and more) – and we've still got Aquaman 2 floating around out there (with rumblings of more reshoots out there). Now, we've made it pretty clear in the past that we thought Gunn & Safran should publically acknowledge an appreciation for the importance of it as The CW's Grant Gustin & Candice Patton-starring The Flash and the overall Arrowverse. First, because the folks behind the decade-plus-old shared universe had earned the respect, and it would keep DC Studios from going down the same path that Marvel did with the Netflix-Marvel series (Daredevil, Jessica Jones, etc.), as well as ABC's Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.).

Revisiting the moment when Miller and Gustin crossed over during the Arrowverse' "Crisis," a question popped into my head that I hadn't thought about – and yet, it seemed kinda obvious. Instead of two "Ezra Millers," why didn't they have Gustin's Barry Allen be the other Barry Allen? Setting aside the fact that you would be doubling the storyline & guest star possibilities, you would be pulling in a pretty passionate Arrowverse fanbase that would have a very vested interest in checking it out – and they're not known for waiting to see it on the small screen. Considering how the real-world version of the film performed, it's tough to argue that there wouldn't have been a boost. But beyond that, it also makes the Arrowverse catalog a lot more valuable because you've now made it matter on a whole other level. Because while Muschietti's The Flash may not be part of what's to come, it will be seen as the road that led us there – and having the Arrowverse involved at such an essential level sends a message of respect & appreciation. And also helps boost those streaming rewatch numbers. So we're going to add that to the list of missed opportunities – here's hoping Gunn & Safran have been taking notes before their big DCU debut.

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