Warner Bros. Discovery reportedly has no plans to continue working with actor Ezra Miller following the release of the upcoming DC Extended Universe film The Flash.
Miller’s various (and highly-publicized) legal troubles have presented what Deadline calls the “first movie crisis” for David Zaslav — CEO of the newly-merged Warner Bros. Discovery — who plans to turn the DC franchise into a successful content vertical akin to Disney’s Marvel franchise amid his restructuring. Deadline reports that Miller is “simply not a part of those plans going forward in the future universe regardless if there are more allegations or not.”
Miller, who has portrayed the DC comic book character Barry Allen/the Flash in the DCEU since 2016, is currently slated to reprise their role in the upcoming solo film The Flash, which is scheduled for release on June 23, 2023. However, Miller has made numerous headlines as of late amid a string of troubling behavior and legal issues, with many onlookers criticizing Warner Bros. for continuing to keep the actor attached to the film.
According to Deadline, Warner Bros. has tried getting help for Miller. But as the headlines pile on, Zaslav is faced with a dilemma regarding the actor’s role in The Flash itself. The outlet postulates that Zaslav could either “pull back” on promoting the film, relegate it to the HBO Max streaming service or “lean in toward making the movie a hit and then drop Miller” if the situation doesn’t improve. “There is no winning in this for Warner Bros,” a studio source said. “This is an inherited problem for Zaslav. The hope is that the scandal will remain at a low level before the movie is released, and hope for the best to turn out.”
In April 2020, a video surfaced online that appeared to show Miller choking a woman and throwing her to the ground at a bar in Iceland, after which point they were reportedly escorted off the premises. The woman did not press charges, nor were charges filed by the authorities. In March 2022, Miller was charged with disorderly conduct and harassment following an alleged physical and verbal altercation with the patrons of a karaoke bar in Hawaii. Miller ultimately plead no contest to the charges.
Shortly after the arrest, a Hawaii couple Miller was staying with filed for court protection against the actor, alleging that they had threatened and stole from them. The couple later requested that the cast be dismissed, which it was. Less than one month after the karaoke incident, Miller was again arrested in Hawaii, this time being charged with second-degree assault for allegedly throwing a chair at a woman after being asked to leave a private get-together.
In June 2022, the parents of 18-year-old activist Tokata Iron Eyes filed for an order of protection against Miller, alleging that the actor had used “violence, intimidation, threat of violence, fear, paranoia, delusions, and drugs” to control their child since the latter was 12 years old, though Iron Eyes has rebuked their parents’ claims. Authorities have been unable to locate Miller so as to serve them the court order. Most recently, a mother and her 12-year-old child were granted a harassment prevention order against Miller, who allegedly threatened their neighbor and behaved inappropriately towards the child.
Source: Deadline