DC and Warners are clearly very serious about ramping up the big-screen presence of their key comic book characters – for, in addition to today’s news that a Green Lantern movie is on the way, comes word that they’re putting the ‘fast’ in ‘fast-tracking’ by attaching another new director to The Flash.
And that director replacing the departing Shawn Levy (and thank God for that) on the superfast superhero movie is David Dobkin, director of… Wedding Crashers?
A curious choice, indeed – although Dobkin’s upcoming Fred Claus has given the helmer experience with working with special effects. Now, can he shift himself away from out-and-out comedy (in other words, can he resist casting Vince Vaughn as the yellow-and-red-clad Flash?).
Dobkin revealed his new role on the movie to MTV.com over the weekend, and also dropped a couple of tidbits their way. There may be spoilers here, so beware!!!
Dobkin said that his Flash will be a direct spin-off from George Miller’s Justice League Of America movie, which instantly makes it a very different proposition from, say, Chris Nolan’s Batman movies.
Furthermore, his movie will feature Wally West as the Flash, and not Barry Allen, who will be the Flash in Miller’s Justice League. Now, before you start accusing DC and Warners of trying to confuse us all with multiple heroes knocking around, bear in mind that West could very well take over from Allen in the JLA movie, which reportedly opens with a funeral and then goes into flashback from there. Hmm…
Or will Allen still be around to play a very different role in the new flick? Dobkin teased MTV with a potential tagline, “You can’t outrun yourself” which suggests that either a) West will be undergoing an existential funk, which is always fun in a comic book movie or b) he’ll be fighting an evil Flash. Allen, perhaps?
Anyway, that’s just idle speculation on our part. And again, just as we cautioned in the Green Lantern story, we’d advise you not to get too carried away with excitement yet. Miller’s Justice League movie is very real and very happening, but The Flash has gone through so many directors so far (David Goyer is another who came and went, in a blur of movement) that, again, we won’t believe this one until we see it.