On June 12, DC Studios’ The Flash finally had its premiere, a huge moment in the long-winding road for the lightning rod project. The movie’s release had been pushed back several times, with much of the buzz around it centered on star Ezra Miller’s string of controversial incidents and arrests for charges including second-degree assault, burglary, and disorderly conduct.
Miller still hasn’t been a substantial part of the film’s press, an unsurprising decision from Warner Bros. even as they forged ahead with releasing their $200 million project, but they made a rare public appearance on the red carpet as part of The Flash’s L.A. premiere.
Miller also made a brief speech at the event, thanking a variety of people including Zach Snyder, Flash creator Garner Fox, Warner Bros. execs Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy, as well as James Gunn and Peter Safran, current shepherds of the DCU. Miller thanked the various higher-ups “for their grace and discernment and care in the context of my life and in bringing this moment actually to fruition.”
The controversies surrounding Miller crescendoed in August 2022, when Miller was charged with felony burglary in Vermont. The actor issued a public apology to Variety, and explained that they were “suffering complex mental health issues and have begun ongoing treatment.” Prior to that, a video that appeared to show Miller choking a woman in Iceland spread online in April 2020, and they were arrested twice in a short span in Hawaii for assault and disorderly conduct. In June 2022, Rolling Stone published a lengthy report that Miller was housing a mother and her young children who were seeking to escape a violent former partner, in a Vermont home with unguarded guns. Miller’s relationship with Lakota activist Tokata Iron Eyes has also been the subject of scrutiny, though Iron Eyes herself told Insider that allegations of grooming or impropriety by the actor were “a disgusting and irresponsible smear campaign.”
In a lengthy Vanity Fair interview, Michael Shannon, who reprises the role of General Zod from his turn in 2013’s Man of Steel, shared measured, but supportive words about his co-star. “If you’re talking about Ezra [Miller], I thought Ezra was lovely—very kind to me when I was there. It’s difficult to talk about, but I always give people a lot of slack in this business, because there’s a lot of people in this business that have issues. And some people have more privacy than others,” Shannon said. “Any time somebody is out in the spotlight getting picked on, I feel for them. Even if it’s warranted, it’s still a horrible situation.”
Director Andy Muschietti was more emphatic in his praise for Miller, telling Deadline that working with the embattled star was “one of my best experiences with an actor in my whole career,” while highlighting their comedic talent and ability to create two distinct characters for the different versions of Barry Allen portrayed in the film. “For years, Ezra has been an obscure actor, because they were doing a lot of independent movies. This is a movie that portrays their full abilities as a performer.”
Early buzz around The Flash had been largely positive, though subsequent reviews released closer to the film’s launch have been far less glowing. In a year that has seen superhero movies underperform at the box office amid a general sense of fatigue around the genre, The Wrap reported in late May that the movie is looking at a first weekend opening around $75 million. It’s tough to know with those projections and the lingering controversy around Miller if a sequel would be greenlit, but Muschietti voiced support for keeping Miller in the titular role. “I don’t think there’s anyone that can play that character as well as they did,” Muschietti told The Discourse podcast.