Game Night directors and Flashpoint contenders John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein are excited for the chance to race into DC’s cinematic universe.
Fielding questions from fans in an “Ask Me Anything” session on Reddit Thursday, Daley wrote the pair “still can’t say anything” about the upcoming Flash movie, but added “we’re excited.”
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The filmmaking pair, two of six credited writers on Marvel Studios’ Spider-Man: Homecoming, said they pitched themselves as directors before that role ultimately was given to Cop Car director Jon Watts.
“It came down to us, Jon Watts and one other contender. Ultimately, Marvel came back to us because they liked what we had pitched for the story and asked if we’d write it,” Goldstein wrote. “Fortunately, we may soon get to direct our own superhero movie.”
Variety reported the Vacation directors were in talks to tackle Flashpoint following the exit of Dope filmmaker Rick Famuyima.
Late last month, Goldstein noted nothing is official as the pair are “still negotiating” with studio Warner Bros., whose New Line Cinema released both Vacation and Game Night. “Deals are in the works right now,” he said.
“We have yet to sign the deal,” Daley added, explaining the duo has yet to start any Flashpoint script work.
Daley and Goldstein told Collider they’re drawn to the super-fast superhuman because he’s “more of a ground-level superhero” and a lot like Spider-Man.
“They were interested in us because of Game Night and Spider-Man,” Goldstein said of studio Warner Bros.
“Because of that combination they did kind of say, ‘We’d like you to consider one of our movies.’ So we read a number of the scripts and [Flashpoint] was the one – we’re huge fans of the character, I collected the comic books as a kid. It was an exciting possibility.”
Seth Grahame-Smith, who penned The LEGO Batman Movie and served as producer on IT, was attached as writer-director for a potential Flash movie before exiting the project.
Following the exits of Grahame-Smith and Famuyima, Warner Bros. was reportedly interested in The LEGO Movie and former Solo: A Star Wars Story directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller.
According to The Wrap, the duo had met with DC Films and expressed an interest in revisiting the Flash movie following Famuyima’s 2016 departure.
Last May, reports surfaced that Spider-Man trilogy helmer Sam Raimi and The Amazing Spider-Man and The Amazing Spider-Man 2 director Marc Webb had both passed on steering the scarlet speedster’s premiere solo movie.
That same month, Back to the Future trilogy director Robert Zemeckis was said to be the frontrunner to helm Flashpoint, but the project failed to gain traction.
Most recently, ex-Flash director Famuyima tossed some apparent shade Warner Bros.’ way towards the financially disappointing Justice League in the wake of Marvel Studios’ Black Panther, suggesting the two camps parted on bad terms.
Wonder Woman star Gal Gadot is expected to appear in Flashpoint alongside “several DC superheroes,” according to an August report from Forbes.
Warner Bros. has yet to slate a release date for Flashpoint. Justice League, starring Ezra Miller as the famous speedster, releases to 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray and Blu-ray March 13.
