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Outrage Over Superhero Casting

Outrage Over Superhero Casting

Wally-as-Flash

Warner Bros Pictures and DC Comics recently released their full slate of upcoming comic book movies through the year 2020. Outside of Justice League and Wonder Woman, two other announcements really stood out. The Flash and Aquaman will be getting their own films in 2018. With The Flash TV show just premiering to great numbers it makes sense to bring that character to the cineplexes. Well DC has other ideas about who will be playing The Flash.

Along with the announcement of the film, it was announced that The Flash would be played by Ezra Miller. The young actor is best known for his roles in We Need to Talk About Kevin and The Perks of Being a Wallflower. Critics have praised his performance in both films and he is looking like a standout star of this generation. Well that wasn’t enough for comic book fans.

The biggest complaints about Ezra Miller playing The Flash come from his sexual preference and a Flash TV show already existing. A lot is being made of the fact that Miller is the first out LBGT actor who has been cast as the lead superhero in a franchise. While Sir Ian McKellen and Ellen Page have appeared in the X-Men films, they weren’t the lead role. It should go without saying that his sexuality will have no effect on the outcome of the film, but here we are.

The other argument stems from the fact that WB just launched a new TV series for The Flash starring Grant Gustin. Gustin is a fine choice for the TV show, but he just doesn’t have the same level of experience as Miller. WB never meant to transition its TV show stars to the multiplexes and fans should be prepared when a new Green Arrow is cast in the Justice League adaptation.

This isn’t the first time comic book fans were quick to judge the casting of DC superheroes and villains. We need to look no further than the casting of Ben Affleck as Batman in Batman Vs Superman: Dawn of Justice or Heath Ledger as The Joker in The Dark Knight. While Affleck could certainly still be a bust, fans were adamant that Nolan had made a poor choice with picking Ledger and that the ‘Gay Cowboy’ could not play the role of The Joker. Not only did Ledger make the character completely his own, but it is one of the finest performances in all comic book movies to date.

As long as there are people around there will be opinions made about casting choices. Warner Bros and DC Comics have made a bold choice casting Ezra Miller as the star of The Flash. His past performances prove that he has the acting chops suitable for the job and he might just be incredible in the role. Let’s give him a chance before we decide his worthiness.

– Max Covill

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