For the past five years, The Flash standalone movie has been stuck in developmental hell at Warner Bros. The project has seen a revolving collection of leads, supporting cast, writers, and directors. Ezra Miller, who plays the Scarlet Speedster in the DCEU, was so fed up with the studio inertia that at one point he collaborated with comics legend Grant Morrison to pen a new script for a solo Flash movie. In an interview with Collider, Morrison revealed that their script took its cue from one of the most popular Hollywood sci-fi movies of all time.

"It was pretty good. I mean, I don't know what they're doing with it. But it was pretty good. And it was a very different kind of superhero thing. It was more like Back to The Future, I would say, than a superhero movie."

Interestingly, one rumor that has persisted, and which Grant Morrison confirmed, is that Warner was looking to adapt The Flashpoint Paradox storyline from the comics for the solo Flash movie. That particular comic is known to fans for its incredibly dark take on DC mythology, including an alternate reality featuring a dead Bruce Wayne, a Superman who is chained up by the government, and a Wonder Woman who battles Aquaman to become ruler of the world.

Such a dark narrative feels at complete odds with the happy-go-lucky vibe of Back to the Future. But according to Morrison, his script with Ezra Miller was able to combine both storylines in a way that would have been accessible to comic fans as well as general audiences.

"It wasn't [darker] really. I mean, elements of darkness were there and the material that they wanted us to use [was] the Flashpoint stuff. So, Ezra and I were actually trying to do something that was a bit more -like I say, it's kind of like just a great science-fiction story. And if you don't know [the comics], it would have made sense. But I have to say, I mean, I don't want to talk about that, because somebody else has done their own work on it and I'm sure it will be great. And maybe, as I say this will leak out one day and people can judge."

Unfortunately, it does not look like fans will be getting to see Morrison and Miller's version of the Flash movie any time soon, since Warner turned down the script, and instead brought on board Christina Hodson (Birds of Prey) to write a fresh script, while Andy Muschietti, of (It) fame, is also onboard to direct, with the studio having set a June 2022 release date for the movie.

While Miller was not able to get his version of the Flash script greenlit, the actor is still set to play the speedy superhero in the DCEU, as was confirmed by a short teaser he posted on Twitter for the DC FanDome event set for 22 August, which will see most of the major actors from the DCEU coming together to announce upcoming projects. This news originated at Collider. The topper art is from Samuel Cheve on Reddit.