The Flash director Andy Muschietti has said his DC Extended Universe film failed at the box office because “a lot of people just don’t care about the Flash as a character.”
Speaking to Radio Tu and translated by Variety, Muschietti said the superhero film failed to appeal to “the four quadrants” — a movie industry term meaning to appeal to everyone — enough to justify its $200 million budget.
“The Flash failed, among all the other reasons, because it wasn’t a movie that appealed to all four quadrants. It failed at that,” Muschietti said. “When you spend $200 million making a movie, [Warner Bros.] wants to bring even your grandmother to the theaters.
“I’ve found in private conversations that a lot of people just don’t care about the Flash as a character. Particularly the two female quadrants. All of that is just the wind going against the film I’ve learned.”
The four quadrants, as defined by Hollywood, are males under 25, males over 25, females under 25, and females over 25.
Muschietti’s mention of “all the other reasons” The Flash failed likely refer to its poor critical reception, criticism of its reliance on computer generated imagery (CGI) including to recreate deceased actors without consulting their family, its placement towards the end of a now defunct film universe, and more.
This seemingly hasn’t stopped DC from keeping Muschietti around, however, as he is reportedly set to direct The Brave and the Bold, the first Batman film in James Gunn and Peter Safran’s new DC Universe.
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.
