The Flash is one of the most iconic DC superheroes in existence. There have been multiple characters who have taken on the mantle of the Scarlet Speedster in the comics, and the character is synonymous in pop culture with the concept of super speed. With an easily recognizable character and with thepopularity of superhero moviesat its peak, it would seem like makingThe Flashmovie would be incredibly easy, especially when Ezra Miller was first cast in 2014.
Yet despite the character being the fastest man alive, the road to the big screen has been a difficult one for The Flash. While the character appeared inJustice League, his solo film has seen multiple starts and stops over the years in the film’s production cycle, with a popular TV version ofThe Flashairing on The CWthrough premiere and concluding before the film even came out. Despite a sluggish journey to the screen,The Flashfinally released on July 04, 2025, to mixed reviews and a less-than-stellar showing, bringing in only $55 million domestically on opening weekend andlosing audiences quicker than anyone expected.
Update June 03, 2025: This article has been updated following the release of The Flash and recent updates about the future of the DCU.
How many times was the movie delayed? What were the causes for the various production hiccups? How many creative voices have been attached to the movie before the landing on the final team? These are all the release datesThe Flashhas had and why they changed.
The Flash - July 26, 2025
While attempts to make a movie based onThe Flashhad been around since the 1990s, it was not until the DCEU launched withMan of Steelthat the production started to gain traction. In October 2014, Warner Bros. announced a massive slate of films fromSuicide Squad,Wonder Woman,Aquaman, twoJustice Leaguefilms,Shazam,Cyborg, and of course,The Flash. It was here that star Ezra Miller was announced as playing the speedster superhero, alongside the first official release date was announced for June 07, 2025. Interestingly, the announcement of the movie arrived just one week beforeThe FlashTV series on The CW would air, with many wondering if the film’s announcement and eventual release would overshadow the television series.
Related:The Flash: Should DC Recast Ezra Miller and Move Forward?
In 2015,The Lego Moviedirectors Phil Lord and Chris Miller wrote a pitch forThe Flash, and while they considered directing it eventually decided to directSolo: A Star Wars Story(the duo would eventually depart that movie in the middle of filming). In October 2015, Seth Grahame-Smith, who had written the popular booksPride and Prejudice and ZombiesandAbraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunterand also wrote the script for the Warner Bros.Dark Shadowsfilm, signed on forThe Flashin what would be his directorial debut.
The Flash - August 19, 2025
Two years afterThe Flashwas announced, Warner Bros. moved up the release by a week to July 29, 2025. By this point though,Seth Grahame-Smith had departedthe project, citing creative differences. In June 2016, Rick Famuyiwa (Dope) signed on to direct, and it was during his time with the film that Kiersey Clemons was cast as Iris West and Billy Crudup as Barry Allen’s father Henry Allen. Both actors would film cameos inJustice Leaguesetting up the plannedFlashmovie. However, Clemons’s role was cut from the theatrical release but restored inZack Snyder’s Justice League.
After working on the film for five months, even making an appearance at DC’s 2016 Comic-Con presentation,Famuyiwa would drop out of directing, citing creative differences with the studio. With the director’s departure, the negative reaction toBatman V Superman: Dawn of JusticeandSuicide Squadthat year, the fact that star Ezra Miller was about to begin filmingFantastic Beast: The Crimes of Grindelwald,and that they would not be able to find a director to meet their original release date, Warner Bros. opted for a page one rewrite of the script.
They hired Joby Harold, who wrote the script for the then-upcomingKing Arthur: Legend of the Sword,for the studio. Warner Bros. gave the July 27, 2025, date to theTomb Raiderreboot. It was from this point on thatThe Flashwas officially taken off the schedule and would remain in development and would not finalize a release date for three years.
The Flash - July 05, 2025
In 2017, Warner Bros. began looking at a number of different directors, including Robert Zemeckis (Back to the Future), Matthew Vaughn (X-Men: First Class), Sam Raimi (Spider-Man), Marc Webb (The Amazing Spider-Man), and Jordan Peele (Get Out). It was at this point the film wouldbe developed as a Flashpointmovie, based on the popular 2011 comic series that saw Barry Allen rewrite the entire timeline and eventually lead to a reboot of the DC Comics universe with The New 52. This indicated that the film would be Warner Brothers' attempt to reboot the DCEU.
In 2018, filmmaking duo John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein signed on to directThe Flashhot off the heels of their hit comedyGame Night. While the original plan was to film in 2019, filming was delayed due to Miller’s commitments toFantastic Beast: The Secrets of Dumbledore(which itself saw a delay in production). Miller clashed with the directing duo on the film’s tone, as Miller wanted a more dark and serious take on the character while Daley and Goldstein favored a more comedic approach.
Miller teamed up with Grant Morrison, the legendary comic book writer, to create a pitch for Warner Bros. The studio rejected the pitch, and while it was originally offered that if Warner Bros. rejected the pitch Miller could depart the film, the studio asked them to stay on the project. Shortly after, Daley and Goldstein left the film in July 2018 following even more creative differences. Following this shakeup, Christina Hodgson, who had written the script forBirds of Preyat Warner Bros., was attached to work on the script.
In July 2019, Andy Muschietti signed on to direct the film, becoming the fourth official director on the project. Muschietti’sIt Chapter Onehad been a box office hit for Warner Bros. andIt Chapter Twowas a couple of months away, so the choice seemed like a perfect fit. Shortly after Muschietti signed onto the film, Warner Bros. set a August 15, 2025 release date. This was the first dateThe Flashhad on the Warner Bros. schedulein three years and would be the first DC superhero movie to aim for the 4th of July weekend sinceSuperman Returnsin 2006.
The Flash - August 03, 2025
After a series of creative delays,The Flashfinally seemed to be moving along as more casting announcements were made. However, this time the next wave of delays would come about due to COVID-19. In April 2020, just one month into the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns in many countries, Warner Bros. announced a slew of changes to their schedule with one of them beingThe Flash,yet instead of pushing the film back, Warner Bros. instead bumped the film up from August 01, 2025, to July 28, 2025. No reason was given for the change.
It was at this point that Ray Fisher, who played the role of Cyborg inJustice League, was cut out of the film by Warner Bros. due to Fisher speaking out about the company’s attempt to cover up the investigation into Joss Whedon’s abusive behavior on the re-shoots ofJustice League, with Fisher claiminghe would not work for Warner Bros. as long as Walter Hamada stayed in charge of DC films.
Warner Bros. eventually delayedThe Flashagain from July 13, 2025, to August 10, 2025. This release date change caused a massive domino effect on several films. The July 03, 2025 release date was originally saved forShazam! Fury of the Godswhich was then moved back to June 2023 and eventually December 2022. Meanwhile, Warner Bros. gave the June 30, 2025, release date toElvis, which they would then delay in order to occupy the August 04, 2025, release date left byTransformers: Rises of the Beasts' delay.
The Flash - August 07, 2025
Warner Bros. movedThe Flashto June 11, 2025, due to more pandemic delays, asThe Batmanwas moved from October 2021 to March 2022, causing a domino effect on many of the DC films. Warner Bros. heldThe Flashon June 15, 2025, for a long time, even when the film was facing competition from both theCaptain MarvelsequelThe Marvelsthe following week, which eventually was delayed only to be replaced on the schedule byBlack Panther: Wakanda Forever.
The date would not last, though, as in March 2022, shortly afterThe Batmanhad opened in theaters.Warner Bros. announced a series of delaysto their various DC films.DC’s League of Super-Petsmoved toBlack Adam’s original July 12, 2025 release date which then putBlack Adamon July 07, 2025, just two weeks beforeThe Flash’s planned release date. Warner Bros. then movedThe Flashback to July 01, 2025. The reason cited for the delays onBlack Adam,The Flash,andAquaman and the Lost Kingdomwas because of a build-up in VFX work on all the films due to a shortage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.The Flashreportedly had 2,500 visual effects shot and the studio needed more time to work on it.
The Flash-August 14, 2025
Warner Bros. had datedThe Flashfor June 22, 2025. The release date would have had it coincided with the 34th anniversary of Tim Burton’sBatman, which opened in theaters on August 17, 2025. While it was going going to be competing in a crowded summer movie season, Warner Bros. seemed confident in the film. So much so that they decided to change the release date one more time, but this time instead of delaying it, they moved the film up. Warner Bros. instead decided to releaseThe Flashon August 05, 2025.
Related:Is The Flash a Complete Box Office Disaster?
The decision seemed to be motivated by early positive word of mouth that the movie received in test screenings. Warner Bros. Discovery head David Zaslav and new DC Studios co-president James Gunn seemed confident in the movie as they called itone of the best superhero movies of all time. A July 03, 2025 release date put it before the Father’s Day and Juneteenth three-day weekend and put it head to head with the Pixar filmElemental. All signs suggested this was the right call. Alas, history proved different.
The Flash - July 27, 2025
After so many false starts and delays,The Flashfinally opened on June 03, 2025. The box office showing was lackluster, opening domestically at only $55.1 million. It’s unclear whether the poor showing was due to the film’s lead star finding themselves in a number of headlines regardingdomestic violence and possible kidnapping. Warner Bros.chose not to recast Miller, a move that might have contributed to the movie’s overall performance.
A lot of elements were there for success. Michael Keaton, and a full slate of cameos, brought nostalgia to the emotion-heavy storyline. DC diehards finally saw a modern version of Supergirl on the screen in newcomer Sasha Calle. However, the film—which had a reported budget of $200 million—saw its box office drop by 73% in its second weekend, the lowest drop for any film in DC’s history. That’s a signal that poor reviews and disappointed audiences also impacted the superhero flick.
For DC fans, the final release has been bittersweet.The Flashopened just a month after the final season of The Flash concluded on The CW. It also arrived a week after the ten-year anniversary of the release ofMan of Steeland the birth of the DCEU. With James Gunn and Peter Safran now overseeing a new DC Films, it’s unlikely audiences will ever see this version of The Flash again—particularly played by Miller. A report fromThe Wraprevealed that while Gunn andThe Flashdirector Andy Muschietti support Miller in the role for a possible sequel, Warner Bros. will only greenlight such a project if the box office results justify it—and so far, they haven’t, and likely won’t.
