The DCEU Storyboard Artist Reveals Scrapped Plans for ‘The Flash’ Trilogy

When Zack Snyder’s ‘Man of Steel’ was released in 2013, we all thought a new era of DC had started since the movie was supposed to kick off a cinematic universe that was supposed to bring DC into the cinematic universe race with Marvel. However, ‘Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice’ received a mixed critical response, and despite grossing over $800 million worldwide, it was deemed a commercial disappointment since it was the first live-action movie that assembled Batman and Superman together.

In 2014, Warner Bros. and DC revealed their planned slate of DC movies, which included many solo movies like ‘Wonder Woman,’ ‘Aquaman,’ ‘The Flash,’ ‘Cyborg,’ and ‘The Green Lantern Corps.’ Now, nine years later, only three of these movies have been made, with the difference that ‘The Flash’ turned out to be very different from what it was originally planned. The movie has been in development hell for many years; it changed several directors and screenplays until Christina Hodson wrote a screenplay that Andy Muschietti directed into a movie that was released in theaters last June.

Jay Oliva reveals scrapped plans for Ezra Miller’s Flash in DCEU!

What DC Extended Universe would’ve been if it wasn’t for that critical and commercial flop of 2017’s ‘Justice League,’ we will never know. However, Jay Oliva, a storyboard artist who was involved in the development of ‘The Flash’ with previously attached directors, Seth Grahame-Smith, who left the project in 2016, and Rick Famuyiwa, who left the project in October 2017.

While talking with Inverse, Oliva revealed that the original plan for Miller’s Flash was to develop a standalone trilogy that would, along with Zack Snyder’s original vision, eventually lead to the adaptation of the ‘Flashpoint’ storyline, which was previously adapted in the animated movie ‘Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox,’ which Oliva directed in 2013.

“I worked with Seth Grahame-Smith, the first director who was attached to ‘The Flash.’ I did a storyboard for him. I did that test. I don’t think I ever saw it, but it got the green light for the movie. I worked with Rick for like six or seven months on that Flash movie, right up until Rick left. The cast was in London. They were building sets. When Rick left, I switched gears and did the reshoots for the ending of ‘Wonder Woman.’

Rick’s movie wasn’t the Flashpoint movie. Originally, there was supposed to be just Zack’s five films and one side movie, which ended up being ‘Suicide Squad.’ Rick’s movie was going to be a series of films, just like ‘Aquaman.’ I think all of those films, they were planning to be trilogies.

At the ending of Zack’s Darkseid quadrilogy, or whatever, we would end up with a ‘Justice League Unlimited’ version of the SnyderVerse. And then you flip it. You do ‘Flashpoint Paradox.’ Everybody who’s friends are now enemies, and it’s a world that you don’t want to live in. You can reboot the universe and introduce a new cast that way. Because after 10 years, the actors need to go onto something else.

I wanted to really capture the grimness of the [Flashpoint] comic, but also lay the groundwork for adapting this as if it was a Marvel live-action film. I just thought that would’ve been fantastic. Can you imagine Jason Momoa fighting Gal Gadot and then having that love story? All of the missed opportunities. Being a part of it was so exciting, and then having to shift gears and pivot. It’s kind of sad. I would’ve loved to have seen it get to this point.”

Jay Oliva for Inverse

‘The Flash’ movie that was released this year used the Flashpoint storyline as an inspiration, but everything in that movie was from being accurate to the source material. The movie received mixed reviews, which mainly criticized visual effects and the third act. The movie turned out to be another box-office failure for DC, with only $268.4 million grossed worldwide against the reported budget of $200-220 million.

‘The Flash’ is now available for purchase on digital.

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