Ezra Miller, a canned $90 million movie, and the glaring problem no one is talking about.

BatGirl was barely a bat signal in the sky before it was shot down and buried in the basement where all never-to-be-released movies go to die.

Starring Leslie Grace in the titular role, and featuring veteran actors Michael Keaton, JK Simmons, and Brendan Fraser, BatGirl was once a bright and shiny addition to Warner Bros' superhero line-up, known as the DC Extended Universe (DCEU).

While the DCEU has many well-known comic book characters, including Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, and Aquaman, Warner Bros has struggled to build a cohesive, interesting, and textured superhero world. That's in sharp contrast to Disney's Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), which has almost 30 films (Avengers, Black Panther, Thor, and so on and so forth) under its belt, plus a growing number of streaming shows (Loki, Moon Knight, WandaVision, and so on and so forth).

On top of all that, each Marvel film and show are interconnected in some way; that's a heck of a lot of world-building. The mastermind behind it all, producer Kevin Feige, says they're in Phase 4 of its superhero strategy. Or is it Phase 5? It's hard to keep track.

Understandably, there's a lot of pressure on Warner Bros to get their superhero strategy right. They've had some success with Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and Zack Snyder's Justice League, but they've also got rogue Batmans out there: Robert Pattinson was fantastic in this year's The Batman, but it was really a standalone film, and elsewhere, Ben Affleck is still making cameos as the Dark Knight even though he supposedly hung up his cape after Justice League. There are rogue Jokers too - Jared Leto is the Joker from Suicide Squad but Joaquin Phoenix is the Joker from The Joker... 

It's a confused strategy in need of a, well, hero.

There are those who thought BatGirl could be that hero. It not only championed a lead Latina actress, and a celebrated cast, but it was directed by Belgian/Moroccan filmmakers Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, who ironically had done stellar work in rival Disney's Ms. Marvel superhero series.

So when BatGirl was cancelled earlier this month, fans and industry insiders were shocked. What made it all the more shocking was that the film was already made - and to the tune of 90 million dollars (AUD $130million).

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Just why the movie was cancelled is up for debate. The early word is that it was really, really bad. So bad that it could never see the light of day lest people's eyes burn from the horror of it. There were also reports that HBO Max - who were partnering with WB for streaming - had pulled out. Other sources say the new head of WB came in with a different strategy: to ensure that every superhero film would be a tent-pole cinematic experience rather than being made for the small screen. Still others said it was simply a "tax write-off".

Whatever the reason, I'm not here to debate whether BatGirl should or should not have been banished to the movie cemetery. [Although my two cents is that WB should have just released it. I mean, if they let Batman vs Superman out into the wild, how bad could BatGirl be?]

Instead, I'm here to ask: Why the HELL has Ezra Miller's The Flash not been cancelled too?

Watch Zack Snyder's Justice League trailer. Story continues below.

In case you've somehow missed the numerous headlines, Ezra Miller, who goes by they/them pronouns, is in big trouble. And while their superhero character, The Flash, could probably outrun these troubles, Miller definitely cannot.

Last week, it was reported that Vermont State Police in the US could not find a mother and her three children who were living in unsafe conditions at Miller's home. The police were trying to issue the mother with an emergency care order so that they could take the children away from Miller's home.

Miller was also charged with felony burglary after Vermont State Police discovered, after looking at surveillance footage, that several bottles of alcohol were stolen from a residence. Miller has been issued a citation to appear in Vermont Superior Court for arraignment next month.

Earlier this month, Business Insider published a very detailed account of allegations of grooming, abuse and violence directed at Miller.

"Insider has spoken with 14 people who had recent interactions with Miller in which the actor exhibited frightening emotional outbursts, carried firearms, or left them feeling unsafe," the publication wrote. "Some people said Miller sought out impressionable young women and nonbinary people whom they could isolate from their families and control. In some cases, Miller had sexual relations with these people. In 2020, during a roughly two-month stint in Iceland where Miller walked the streets barefoot, rumours spread that the movie star was running a cult out of an Airbnb."

Numerous reports have also described Miller's grooming of 18-year-old nonbinary activist Tokata Iron Eyes, with Tokata's parents requesting an order of protection against The Flash star. In Insider's piece, there were also allegations of grooming of another nonbinary child - a then 11-year-old. The child's mother was granted a temporary protection order against Miller.

Listen to The Spill's episode on BatGirl. Story continues below.

There have also been several arrests. In April this year, Hawaii police arrested the actor for second-degree assault at a private residence. 

"During the course of their investigation, police determined that the individual, later identified as Ezra Miller, became irate after being asked to leave and reportedly threw a chair, striking a 26-year-old female on the forehead, resulting in an approximate half-inch cut," a news outlet reported.

According to Associated Press, Miller was also arrested at a Hawaiian karaoke bar in March, after taking issue with bar patrons singing the song 'Shallow'. The star was arrested, bailed by a kindly couple who they lived with at a hostel - and then promptly had a restraining order placed against them after the couple's passports and wallets were stolen by the actor.

The complaint in the restraining order filing alleges that Miller "burst into the bedroom of the petitioner(s) and threatened" the male victim "saying 'I will bury you and your sl*t wife'."

There's also a very disturbing video of Miller choking a woman at a bar in Iceland. The woman thought it was "just fun and games" at first before realising that Miller was not kidding around. "[Miller got] on top of me, choking me, still screaming in my face if I want to fight," she said.

Despite all this - and I've only briefly touched on the details of these allegations here - Warner Bros CEO David Zaslav, who put the kibosh on BatGirl, said earlier this month, "We have seen The Flash, Black Adam and Shazam 2. We are very excited about them. We've seen them. We think they are terrific, and we think we can make them even better."

Just this week, Miller apologised for their actions. 

"Having recently gone through a time of intense crisis, I now understand that I am suffering complex mental health issues and have begun ongoing treatment," Miller said in a statement provided to Variety. "I want to apologise to everyone that I have alarmed and upset with my past behavior. I am committed to doing the necessary work to get back to a healthy, safe and productive stage in my life."

While an apology is a good start, Miller has a long, long way to go before we should see them on our screens. The timing is a bit suspicious too - it seems like the redemption tour is just in time for the launch of The Flash in 2023. The cynic in me is asking if Miller is apologetic, or if they were asked to apologise for the sake of a very expensive movie.

So basically BatGirl was gone in a flash, but The Flash is still hanging around like a bad headache. You have to feel sorry for the film's marketing team; imagine promoting a superhero movie where the star is actually a real-life villain.

ezra miller arriving at the flash premiere pic.twitter.com/HoFCtJyF2u

— PRETTY MUCH IT (@PrettyMuchIt) August 8, 2022

Every time I see a new Ezra Miller story, I think surely it can't be worse than the last one. Every time i am wrong 💀 https://t.co/rNWB9gNx3R

— Duveaine (@Duveaine7) August 7, 2022

we are like one or two news cycles away from ezra miller having the nuclear codes

— Marlow Stern (@MarlowNYC) August 12, 2022

Surely The Flash cannot go ahead - not in its current form, at least. Warner Bros simply cannot stand behind a film whose lead has not only been arrested and charged, but who is also accused of several serious transgressions. This is not a situation like Will Smith's, who slapped Chris Rock on the Oscars stage. Miller has been part of a sustained campaign of abuse and violence.

It would be an interesting business decision to forge ahead with Miller as the star.

More importantly, it would be a morally questionable one. 

Ezra Miller grooms a 12 yr old girl for 6 yrs, chokes a woman in Iceland, fights steals in Hawaii & hits a woman w/ a chair, protective order against him for targeting a 12 yr, & is charged w/ felony burglary.

But Batgirl was too problematic for DC and definitely not Flash. 😒 pic.twitter.com/uMJp2nZPnt

— AskAubry 🦝 (@ask_aubry) August 9, 2022

Ezra Miller: I’m incredibly unstable, I regularly commit random acts of violence, and I also run a sex cult where I groom runaway children.

Warner Brothers: That’s it. We’re pulling the plug on Batgirl.

— Scrümbled Eggs (@scrumble_eggs) August 8, 2022

Kevin Smith can't believe Warner Bros. canceled 'Batgirl,' and not 'The Flash,' considering the controversies surrounding Ezra Miller. https://t.co/bqNjojTSCE

— Rolling Stone (@RollingStone) August 8, 2022

Aside from canning the entire $200 million production, there is another alternative to revive The Flash.

Warner Bros could go down the route of Netflix's Army of the Dead, where the director Zack Snyder re-shot scenes featuring comedian Chris D'Elia, who was accused by several women of sexual impropriety, with actor-comedian Tig Notaro instead.

Watched Army Of The Dead on Netflix and I had no idea Tig Notaro was completely green screened into the film for all of her scenes. I'm impressed. pic.twitter.com/mDrOfczaFq

— Nicolas Gonzalez (@Nictack) May 22, 2021

Snyder told Vanity Fair the decision to recast D’Elia’s part, even though the movie was already done, was "a fairly easy one" - although it was also an expensive enterprise. According to producer and Snyder's wife, Deborah, Netflix stumped up the cash and "put their money where their mouth is".

The question is, will Warner Bros do the same?

Will they be the superhero... or the villain?

Stay tuned.