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The road to finally bringing a Flash movie to the big screen took a major step forward last month, when it was revealed that writers/directors John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein had entered negotiations to take the helm of the long-developing Flashpoint. Daley and Goldstein weren’t necessarily obvious choices as their screenwriting background is more on the comedy side with films like Horrible Bosses and Vacation, but they most recently directed the upcoming action-comedy Game Night for Warner Bros. and co-wrote Marvel Studios’ wildly successful Spider-Man: Homecoming, so when you take a closer look, the fit actually makes quite a bit of sense.

The Flash movie has already gone through two different directors, as Seth Grahame-Smith (Dark Shadows) was originally attached to write and direct (marking his directorial debut) before being replaced by Dope helmer Rick Famuyiwa. But Famuyiwa left the project in November 2016, a few months before filming was supposed to begin, and Warner Bros. put the brakes on The Flash while star Ezra Miller went off to film Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald.

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Image via Warner Bros.

Now that Miller’s schedule is opening back up, Warner Bros. looks to have finally settled on Daley and Goldstein to get Flashpoint off the ground. So when Collider’s own Steve Weintraub spoke with the duo at the press day for Game Night—which is a pretty large-scale action comedy starring Jason Bateman and Rachel McAdams—he asked the filmmakers how they came to be involved with Flashpoint. As Daley tells it, Warner Bros. approached them to see if they had any interest in the DCEU:

“They gave us a list of DC properties and said, ‘Is there anything you’d be interested in?’, in no way promising us anything at all.”

Goldstein adds that it was their experience with Warner Bros. on Game Night and what they did with Spider-Man: Homecoming that led the studio to consider them for one of its major superhero properties:

“They were interested in us because of Game Night and Spider-Man. 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 that was one—we’re huge fans of the character, I collected the comic books as a kid. It was an exciting possibility.”

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Image via Warner Bros.

Daley adds that what also drew them to Flash was his general unrefined quality when it comes to being a superhero:

“Just the fact that the character is unique from other superheroes in that he doesn’t completely have his shit together like Superman does. It’s more of a ground-level superhero.”

Goldstein said that this approach—crafting a story in which the lead in your superhero movie is incredibly relatable—is what Flashpoint and Homecoming have in common:

“It’s a relatable way in to a superhero movie in some of the same ways that Peter Parker was for the Marvel side of things.”

The two stressed that they’re still in the dealmaking stage, working on their contract, so they aren’t officially onboard to direct Flashpoint just yet. But they clearly have a passionate take on the material and to be quite honest, their track record points to a refreshing kind of DC movie. From a cinematic standpoint Game Night proves they can handle big effects and set pieces, and while their comedy is fantastic in Horrible Bosses, their take on Spider-Man: Homecoming also proves they can tell a funny story in a human, grounded way. So here’s hoping that deal works out and this Flashpoint movie finally gets off the ground.

Look for Steve's full interview with John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein next week.

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Image via Warner Bros.
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Image via Warner Bros.
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Image via Warner Bros.
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Image via Warner Bros.