But when allegations of misconduct surface, how is the franchise meant to move forward? Should the actor be recast? Given the current crop of superhero movies is going all in on the ‘multiverse’ concept – in which multiple iterations of the same character can co-exist without any one serving as the singular ‘face’ of the role – bringing a new actor in should be an easy solution.
At Marvel’s rival studio DC, however, recasting is out of the question. On a recent podcast, The Flash director Andy Muschetti said he would be open to actor Ezra Miller resuming the titular role should there be a sequel. “I don’t think there’s anyone that can play that character as well as they did. The other depictions of the character are great, but this particular vision of the character, they just excelled in doing it. It feels like a character that was made for them,” he said.
It’s a puzzling statement, given Miller’s list of alleged crimes is a long one. Last year, they were arrested in Hawaii twice – first for disorderly conduct and harassment during an altercation at a bar, and then for assault after they allegedly threw a chair at a woman. The parents of an 18-year-old North Dakota girl also accused the actor of “emotional and psychological manipulation” and “cult-like behaviour”, saying Miller had been grooming their daughter since she was 12. The actor was also charged with a felony burglary after they broke into an unoccupied Vermont residence and stole bottles of alcohol. In 2020, they were caught on video choking a woman at an Icelandic bar. In 2022, a Berlin woman filed a criminal complaint against Miller, alleging they turned verbally abusive at her house, and she believed she was in danger of being physically attacked.