Ezra Miller will return for a potential sequel of The Flash despite their recent controversies, the film’s director has said.
In recent years, Miller – who uses they/them pronouns – has found themself facing a series of controversies and legal troubles, ranging from disorderly conduct and assault to burglary.
In August 2022, the actor issued an apology, explaining that they had been “suffering complex mental health issues”.
This had led many to question whether their latest project, a big-screen adaptation of DC Comics’ The Flash would ever be released, after beginning shooting back in 2021.
However, the long-awaited film will finally arrive in cinemas on 16 June, despite some fans threatening to boycott the project over Miller’s involvement.
In a forthcoming episode of The Discourse podcast, director Andy Muschietti heaped praise on Miller for their performance, saying that the actor would continue the role in any sequel Muschietti made.
“If it happens, yes,” the director said, as reported by The Playlist. “I don’t think there’s anyone that can play that character as well as they did.
“The other depictions of the character are great, but this particular vision of the character, they just excelled in doing it. And, as you said, the two Barrys – it feels like a character that was made for them.”
Muschietti’s wife Barbara, who produced the film, added: “In principal photography, Ezra was brilliant and the most committed and the most professional [actor]. Ezra gave everything for this role – physically, creatively, emotionally. They were absolutely supreme.”
Miller’s troubles began when a video surfaced on Twitter in 2020 that appeared to show the actor choking a woman at a bar in Reykjavik, Iceland. No charges were ever brought against Miller over the incident.
Miller was also accused of grooming and “psychologically manipulating, physically intimidating and endangering the safety and welfare” of 18-year-old indigenous activist Tokata Iron Eyes.
In an interview with The Independent, the teenager’s father claimed Miller supplied them with alcohol, marijuana and LSD during their friendship, which dated back to when Iron Eyes was 12.
Tokata Iron Eyes denied being abused or groomed by the actor.
In May 2022, Miller was charged with alleged alcohol theft in the state of Vermont. Local police said in a statement that they had received a complaint that several bottles of alcohol had been stolen from an address in County Rd in Stamford on 1 May this year.
While the fate of The Flash hang in the air, Warner Bros confirmed in August 2022 that the film would still be released in June 2023 as planned.
That same month, Miller shared their apology following a period of “intense crisis”.
“Having recently gone through a time of intense crisis, I now understand that I am suffering complex mental health issues and have begun ongoing treatment,” they said.
“I want to apologise to everyone that I have alarmed and upset with my past behaviour. I am committed to doing the necessary work to get back to a healthy, safe and productive stage in my life.”
The Flash is released in cinemas on 16 June.
