Andy Muschietti, The Flash's director, offered some explanation behind the surprising brief nudity in the recently released blockbuster film.
Ezra Miller's upcoming film turned some heads when its PG-13 rating included a note for "partial nudity" - something that isn't seen very often in DC projects.
Though, audiences probably shouldn't be too surprised. Last year, a variant comic cover was released for the movie that saw the titular hero basically completely naked as he changed into his costume mid-fight.
The scene in question, included in the final version of the movie, involved a younger Barry Allen not knowing how to use his powers—a situation that quickly leads to him burning his own clothes off.
Explaining the Nudity in The Flash
While speaking with Movie Maker, The Flash director Andy Muschietti offered his reasoning behind including Ezra Miller's partial nudity in the recent film.
The filmmaker makes it clear that he has "no problem with nudity," and that the sequence exists simply as "part of the story:"
"I have no problem with nudity. Of course, it’s a PG-13 movie, so it’s not like full frontal or anything. It’s part of the story, there’s no intention to show our hero [undressed], except for that his clothes burned because he doesn’t know how to use his powers. He’s in the middle of the street, butt naked, having created a terrifying mess with fire and people running and all kinds of disasters."
The Practicality of a Naked Flash
Andy Muschietti's reasoning makes perfect sense, and it's commendable that he worked to maintain the logic being applied to Barry Allen's powerset.
Sadly, it doesn't look like a naked Ezra Miller is helping the film's box office results.
The Flash only managed to make a measly $55 million in its domestic debut. That's less than Black Adam's $67 million—which was considered a flop.
Obviously, there are plenty of factors that aren't helping the movie, and any nudity isn't affecting it either way. Instead, the film's fate was all but sealed thanks to its star's controversial recent history, an impending DCU reboot, and some truly terrible VFX work.
Fans should not expect this project to get a sequel, no matter how excited actors like Sasha Calle are about doing more. Don't despair, however.
It's hard to imagine that audiences won't be seeing The Flash again sooner rather than later. Though, it'll be part of James Gunn's upcoming reboot, which will almost certainly culminate in the Scarlet Speedster getting recast.
The Flash is now playing in theaters worldwide.
