Could Robert Zemeckis Direct The Flash Movie?

There are rumours circling the Internet suggesting that Robert Zemeckis is in talks to direct The Flash movie for DC. Could this be true, and if so, is he the right man for the job?

The Flash movie has been going through tough times recently. It all sounded so promising when we learned that Phil Lord and Chris Miller were writing the script’s first treatment, who are now hard at work on the Han Solo ‘solo’ movie. Then Seth Grahame-Smith was brought on board to direct, which would have been his directorial debut. He has previously helped pen the scripts for Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, The LEGO Movie, Dark Shadows and Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.

Unfortunately, he left the project due to creative differences, which saw Dope’s director Rick Famuyiwa step into the ring, who swiftly exited the project for similar reasons. It sounds like DC can’t see eye-t0-eye with many of these directors, and didn’t like the direction they were taking the script. Now we’re hearing rumours that Robert Zemeckis is meeting with DC and Warner Bros., apparently to discuss the possibility of having him helm the much troubled Flash movie.

Zemeckis is the man behind the classic Back to the Future franchise, as well as Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Forrest Gump, Cast Away, Flight, and the often maligned, Contact. There’s no doubt that he’s a very talented director, yet it’s been a case of diminishing returns with him more recent films, and he’s been concentrating heavily on animated movies, which resulted in the utter turkey of a film, Beowulf. His most recent film, Allied, starring Brad Pitt and Marion Cotillard, received middling to negative reviews, but could helming a DC movie be exactly what he needs? More to the point, is he the type of director the DCEU needs to give it a bit more life and vigour?

What would a Zemeckis Flash film look like? Judging by his back-catalogue, he’s not affraid of creating stunning visuals. He’s always trying to find new ways to push the boundaries of cinema when it comes to visual effects. Imagine what he might be able to achieve with a big DC/Warner Bros/ superhero movie budget behind him? It would certainly be spectacular and very different to what we have seen previously. The only real question mark would be the current state of the script, and whether or not Zemeckis would want to take on such a project.

Ezra Miller as The Flash

These are just rumours at the moment, reported on by Screen Junkies News, so it’s not even certain whether this meeting really happened and whether it was regarding The Flash standalone movie, but dreamers can dream, and I for one would love to see Zemeckis get his hands on The Flash property. I can picture it now: Flash to the Future – Zemeckis’ take on Flashpoint, in which Ezra Miller’s Flash meets a mad scientist who manages to help him run fast enough to go back in time to save his mother from being murdered by Reverse Flash, and then just watch all hell break loose.