Warner Bros.’ “The Flash” already has a few high profile fans before its theatrical release. Horror icon Stephen King got to see an early screening of the DC tentpole and raved on Twitter, “This one is special. It’s heartfelt, funny, and eye-popping. I loved it.” A report from THR also claimed that Tom Cruise was treated to an early look of the film and loved it so much that he personally called director Andy Muschietti to share raves. In a recent interview with Total Film magazine, Andy Muschietti and “The Flash” producer Barbara Muschietti confirmed Cruise’s phone call.
“If anything, [we got] more confidence in the thing that we did, because the movie was finished by the time that [Cruise and King] saw it,” Andy said about getting pre-release praise from King and Cruise. “It was a confidence boost if anything.”
Barbara agreed, saying, “It’s a very cynical industry, and to hear people that really have no skin in the game, because they have nothing to gain, just say something that lovely – in the case of Tom Cruise, he called us, talked for 15 minutes, praising Andy, praising the film, and it just feels very good because we really work very hard to make these movies.”
In THR’s original story, it was reported that Cruise became interested in seeing “The Flash” after meeting with Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav in February. Zaslav was raving about the comic book movie, which new DC Studios co-head James Gunn has repeatedly called one of the greatest superhero movies ever made. Cruise’s interest was piqued, so Zaslav arranged a screening for the A-lister.
Cruise has become something of cinema’s savior thanks to the blockbuster success of “Top Gun: Maverick,” which grossed $1.49 billion worldwide last year and was widely regarded as the studio tentpole that brought movie theaters back to life post-pandemic. Although Disney’s “Spider-Man: No Way Home” was the pandemic era’s first billion-dollar grosser and hit the $1.9 billion mark, that film was more of a sure bet theatrically than “Maverick” given its Marvel roots and a story that united three generations of Spider-Man actors.
“You saved Hollywood’s ass and you might have saved theatrical distribution,” Steven Spielberg said to Cruise in a viral video out of the 2023 Oscars Nominee Luncheon earlier this year. “Seriously, ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ might have saved the entire theatrical industry.”
“The Flash” opens in theaters nationwide June 16 from Warner Bros.
