The Flash

I've learned some details on Seth Grahame-Smith's and Rick Famuyiwa's drafts for The Flash from a friend that works at Warner Bros Pictures. They were both slated to direct the movie at different points, but dropped out due to creative differences with the studio executives. Phil Lord and Chris Miller created a story treatment and WB wanted them to direct, but they picked the Han Solo movie instead (look how that turned out).

Apparently, WB wants to exploit the character's teenage appeal and believes that if they play their cards right they can turn the Flash into DC's Spider-Man or something. So they have a very specific vision of how the movie should be, which can be creatively constricting and is the reason why they've been struggling to get a director on board lately.

Both versions were working with the old March 2018 release date, so they're both set six months after Zack Snyder's Justice League, which is when Barry Allen first reveals himself to the world and time travels for the first time.

Grahame-Smith wrote two drafts of the script, based on Lord and Miller's treatment, which he turned in on November 2015 and later March 2016. His drafts borrowed a bit from the TV series, and featured the Zoom as the villain.

The plot centers on Barry investigating the murders of several scientists. He finds out they were connected to a secret government program to use a machine to harness the Speed Force, but the machine malfunctioned and exploded, turning Barry into the Flash. The scientists are now being targeted by another speedster, who turns out to be one of the researchers involved in the project, Eobard Thawne.

In his version, Thawne comes from the future and is obsessed with the Speed Force, but hates Barry and wants to replace him as the fastest man alive. After uncovering Barry's secret identity, he he travels back in time, murders Barry's mother, frames his father and spends 15 years psychologically undermining Barry so that when they fight, Barry is weak. He then infiltrated the government program and arranged for the machine to explode so it also turns him into a speedster. He needed Barry to become the Flash as well to ensure that the Flash's existence leads to him learning about the Speed Force in the future, but plans to steal Barry's speed so he can use the Speed Force to reshape history to his image.

Barry and Thawne end up travelling through time, and find out they were both created by paradoxes: Thawne became obsessed with Speed Force in the future because of the experiment, whIich he pretty much created in the past, and Barry became the Flash because of Thanwe so he can't prevent Thawne from killing his mother or he doesn't become the Flash and the world gets destroyed. Barry manages to defeat Thawne by removing his speed and exposing his crimes, so he's arrested and Barry's father is freed.

In the first draft, Iris West meets Barry because her father is one of the scientists murdered by Thawne and she's also investigating. Jay Garrick is the scientist who first discovered the Speed Force and mentors Barry until Thawne kills him, and David Singh is the Central City Police Captain. Three new characters were added, Barry's friend and fellow forensic scientist Kyle Rhodes; Barry's workplace rival, hotshot Detective Adam Cruz; and Iris' editor Amanda Shaw. Cyborg made a cameo appearance.

From what I've been told, WB liked the script aside from minor issues, and the revisions done to the second draft were mostly to scale down the action scenes due to budget. The biggest change storywise was scrapping the Iris' subplot, which felt superfluous, and turning her into Barry's childhood friend who helps in the investigation. Kyle Rhodes was cut because of this, and Amanda Shaw's role was reduced.

WB didn't believe that Grahame-Smith could do the project justice since he had no experience with blockbusters and the movie's action scenes would be very expensive nevertheless, particularly the final battle in which Barry and Thawne would fight throughout different places and time periods like ancient Rome and World War II. So Grahame-Smith left the project in April 2016 and WB hired Famuyiwa to replace him in May.

WB expected Famuyiwa to work off of Grahame-Smith's script, but Famuyiwa wanted to go a different direction and wrote his own draft with Captain Cold as the villain. It was a darker and grittier approach, less high-concept sci-fi and more street-level crime film. Central City is a crime-ridden place (apparently described as "Gotham with worse weather" at one point) controlled by mobster Jack Monteleone. Barry solves cold cases as a CSI and prevents crimes as the Flash, but wants to do more. He's also been working with Cyborg to find out how to travel back in time again and save his mother, who was murdered 15 year prior (more on that later).

Leonart Snart and Lisa Snart are thieves who are hired by Monteleone to steal some documents. Monteleone betrays them and Lisa gets shot and ends up in a coma, so Snart swears revenge on Monteleone. The Flash intervenes so Snart steals the cold gun from S.T.A.R. Labs to stop him from interfering with his plans.

Meanwhile, Barry's mentor, Detective Fred Chyre, who looked after Barry after his mother's death, is arrested for shooting an unarmed teenager while drunk. Barry suspects that Chyre has been framed and begins investigating alongside Iris and Chyre's partner, Jared Morillo. They eventually finds out Chyre was investigating corrupt cops working for Monteleone, and that the documents that Monteleone hired Snart to steal were the evidence Chyre had compiled. Monteleone's men locate and kill Lisa, causing Snart to kill Monteleone and his men as well as several cops and bystanders in an attack on Monteleone, and Iris is killed by Morillo after finding out he's the ringleader of the corrupt cops and framed Chyre so he wouldn't be exposed by the investigation.

When Barry finds Iris death, he succeeds in travelling back in time and saves Iris and Lisa, and exposes Morillo and Monteleone with some help from Cyborg. Snart gets arrested before innocents are hurt. Barry and Iris get together, Chyre is reinstated to the police (and hints to knowing that Barry is the Flash) and the Flash earns Snart's respect by saving Lisa. Snart then alludes to assembling a new crew to take over the city.

Barry's mother's death is a minor subplot with big implications. Thawne exists and appears able to alter peoples' memories. Barry's father doesn't remember anything leading up to waking up covered in his wife's blood, and believes he's guilty, but Barry is convinced that he's not. Barry also has recurring nightmares with a red-eyed demon that he realizes when he finally time travels are actually fragmented memories. Thawne appears in a post-credits scene, reading a newspaper about the Flash's heroism and mentioning their encounter is near.

The script also alludes to several Rogues, with Mick Rory and Axel Walker being referenced, and Sam Scudder appearing as a fixer working for Monteleone who helps Morillo set up Chyre. The cold gun is also created by Clyde Mardon as part of his experiments with weather, and he mentions his criminal brother too. Hunter Zolomon also shows up as a D.A. helping Chyre's investigation.

Famuyiwa turned in his draft on August 2016. It was not what WB was expecting or looking for after Batman V Superman was badly-received, and they asked for a retool of the whole concept. Famuyiwa and the studio heads went back and forth for a few weeks, and when it became clear they weren't seeing eye to eye on what the project needed, Famuyiwa dropped out on October 2016.

WB delayed the project so that Joby Harold could do a page one rewrite with advice from Geoff Johns and Jon Berg. They want a veteran director to helm the movie, and they've approached guys like Matthew Vaughn, Sam Raimi and Francis Lawrence, but who they really want is Robert Zemeckis, and apparently he's interested in it if they can make the schedule work. So it's done a done deal but things are looking good.

All I know of this new draft is that the Rogues are the villains (Captain Cold, Heatwave, Mirror Master and Weather Wizard) and that they're being made into a rogue military unit armed with weapons stolen from the government, and are described as "multiethnic".

I hate that costume so fucking much

>and are described as "multiethnic".
Fucking Christ
However I do believe you OP.

Thanks OP seems believable. I like the reverse flash story more

>from a friend that works at Warner Bros Pictures.

>particularly the final battle in which Barry and Thawne would fight throughout different places and time periods like ancient Rome and World War II.

That sounds awesome.

I'm not sure how I feel about the new Iris West...

Seems fitting in a battle of speedsters. Flash' super in Injustice 2 is basically that

hot

isn't that from that teen movie he did though

>Apparently, WB wants to exploit the character's teenage appeal

Then why did they cast a dude who looks like a gay Mexican Muslim?

>not getting Edgar Wright

Shit WB get it together.

Honestly, first draft sounds the most interesting. Battle of speedsters, time paradoxes, heavy sci-fy. I think it fits DCEU theme the most. New draft looks like something from Spider-Man movie.

This is actually something unique and not seen yet in superhero movies. Keeps the big themes that make DC capekino too.

Sounds like Marveltrash.

I love it. I hope his rumoured second suit still looks like armour.

>have no idea what Ezra Miller's superhero physique looks like since he never shills himself on social media
Feels bad. I'm gonna guess he looks similar to Leto but with a hairy chest.

Why the fuck didn't DC just make him Bart Allen?

Fuck. They should have just started with the League already formed anyway.

TESTUOOOOOOO!

>interesting take on God like beings wrestling through time with paradoxes and existential questions

>hey fuck that, let's turn it into a filler 30 mintue cartoon/CW crime episode
>hey...why can't flash just solve all this street lvl bullshit in the first 15 minutes?


>err..better yet, let's just do the formulaic marvel hodge podge of criminals stealing high tech gear and call it a day

>turn the flash into dc's spiderman
That is the stupidest, most asinine idea I've ever heard. It's definately do-able, but Barry Allen isn't that guy, Wally West fills those shoes perfectly, Shit, they would have a much easier time doing that with Blue Beetle, Firestorm, or Static.

That time traveling battle does sound fantastic though.

That suit is fucking terrible.

Fuck off Gustin with your CW leather trash