The superhero genre has been a powerful force in the entertainment industry for over a decade now. There are various cinematic universes in play as a result, including the DCU. The next upcoming DC movie hitting theaters is Ezra Miller’s The Flash, which has been a long time coming. Producer Barbara Muschietti recently opened up about the film getting major praise from the likes of Tom Cruise and Stephen King.
The Flash debuted at CinemaCon back in April, and since then a number of notable film icons have caught early screenings. The great Stephen King shared his approval online, saying that he “loved” the DC flick. Tom Cruise also praised The Flash, which might help get moviegoers to the theater. Barbara Muschietti recently appeared on CinemaBlend's podcast ReelBlend, and opened up about this early reception. She offered what it was like from the inside, saying:
With Tom Cruise, it was a double punch because we heard the news that he had loved the movie. And suddenly our assistant comes running to us and, and says – this was midday – ‘Tom Cruise is on the line!’ And we had 15 to 20 minutes of the most supportive human being, (with) no skin in the game. I mean, the guy had no reason to make this call. He just devoted 20 minutes of his life to just throw flowers at Andy, at the cast, at everything. Just incredibly supportive. I don't think we'll ever forget that. It's just one of those forever moments.
Well, there you have it. It looks like Tom Cruise's reaction to The Flash was a surprise to even the filmmakers themselves. And they were doubly gobsmacked when the Mission: Impossible star took the time to hop on the phone and talk to them about the long-delayed DC blockbuster.
Of course, it’s not only names like King and Cruise who have shared their support over the Muschiettis’ DC blockbuster. Reviews for The Flash have also been favorable, which has helped raise the public’s anticipation for the project. Later in the same chat with Reeblend, Barbara Muschietti offered intel about Stephen King's reaction. In her words:
With Stephen King, I don't know what to say. He's the greatest human being. . With Tom, we didn't even know that he was watching it. We didn't know. With Stephen King, we knew that he was watching it because we know what theater (where) he loves to watch it, in Maine. But again, he had no skin in the game and no reason for that love. He went with his wife, Tabita. We'll never forget that again.
How sweet is that? Given how much Tom Cruise has championed the theater industry during/after COVID, perhaps this story shouldn’t be a surprise. He’s passionate about the theatrical experience, including superhero flicks like The Flash. And he took the time to really dig deep on what he liked about the project with the Muschiettis. As for King, he's passionate about good storytelling.
Of course, there are plenty of moviegoers out there who would love to see Tom Cruise himself get involved in a superhero project. His name was tossed around to play Tony Stark ahead of Iron Man, and some fans hoped he’d appear as a variant of Iron Man sometime in the MCU. But it’s unclear if/when he might jump into a comic book role.
The Flash hits theaters on June 16th. In the meantime, check out the 2023 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience.
