It’s true that Warner Bros. has a valid reason to trust Andy and Barbara Muschietti after they successfully guided the studio’s highly lucrative “It” movies. Still, it’s one thing to oversee a two-part adaptation of an incredibly popular Stephen King novel that’s half the price of his average store; it’s another to direct a troubled superhero movie with a budget in excess of $200 million. (And that’s a conservative estimate!) Not to mention, the Muschietti had yet to address any project of that scale prior to “The Flash”.
“Well, you know, it’s fascinating that your biggest gift is also your biggest problem, which is money,” said Barbara Muschietti, speaking during the film’s post-screening question-and-answer session. “You get more money and that’s great. You get more money and that’s terrible too,” she added with a laugh. Still, she insisted that she and her brother were surprised at how WB didn’t intervene:
“But I have to say, and this is real, we had a lot of support from the studio to make the movie that Andy wanted to make. It was almost shocking, the support and trust that they put in us and in a movie of this size.” And I think that shows because we have to do something really personal.”
The WB no doubt wished to avoid any more negative headlines involving the DCEU, which surely instigated the Muschietti’s cause. As for the movie’s massive cost, that also seems necessary, given the multiverse-shattering scope of its story. One can glean a lot from the movie’s trailers, which allude to subplots about the Kryptonian invasions and Michael Keaton’s Batman in a narrative supposedly about Barry Allen’s inner demons. Fingers crossed, that “personal” aspect of the film that Barbara Muschietti alluded to is not lost in the shuffle.
“The Flash” hits theaters on June 16, 2023.