"The Flash" movie has lost its second director, Rick Famuyiwa, sources confirm. Just eight months after Seth-Grahame Smith's departure from the Warner Bros. film, Famuyiwa has followed, citing "creating differences" as the main reason for his exit.
Famuyiwa himself confirmed his departure as the director of "The Flash" movie in an interview with Variety. He told the magazine that he and the studio had conflicting visions for the film. He said that when he was approached by Warner Bros. and DC Entertainment about directing the superhero film, he was "excited about the opportunity to enter this amazing world of characters" that he loved growing. He also shared that he was excited to work with lead star Ezra Miller.
The "Dope" director's version for "The Flash" movie was supposedly in line with his "voice, humor and heart." Nevertheless, he thanked the studio for giving him the opportunity to work on the project, albeit briefly.
Famuyiwa's exit has shocked many, considering the pre-production for "The Flash" movie is already in full swing and production is set to begin early in 2017. Casting for the movie is also nearly completion, with Kiersey Clemons and Billy Crudup joining the list as Iris West and Barry Allen's father, respectively.
Famuyiwa succeeded Seth Grahame-Smith, who initially wrote the script for "The Flash" movie. While Grahame-Smith's left in the very early stages of production, pre-production was already far along when Famuyiwa exited. Thus, the changes might be more difficult to remedy this time around.
According to Mashable, Warner Bros. and DC had the same issues with the "Wonder Woman" movie after its first director, Michelle MacLaren, left the project due to creative differences before filming for the movie began. She was later replaced by Patty Jenkins. Creative difference also caused splits between Marvel and some of its directors such as Ava DuVernay who exited "Black Panther" and most recently, Tim Miller who left "Deadpool 2" following a rift with lead star Ryan Reynolds.
"The Flash" movie is scheduled to be released on March 16, 2018. The movie is the second stand-alone superhero film in the DC Extended Universe following 2016's "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice."