We can think of no better use of the old saying ‘too many cooks spoil the broth’ than in relation to the news that an upcoming superhero movie slated for release in 2023 involved 45 different screenwriters. That number of writers is truly ridiculous to comprehend, and we are betting that the movie in question is the problematic DCEU project The Flash.
According to Deadline, a big comic book movie with a release date in 2023 just turned in its final script to the Writers Guild of America to get the screenwriter credits in order. Turns out, the script in question cited 45 different writers had played a part in writing the screenplay at some point during its development.
This staggering number looks even worse when you consider that most scripts in the past might have up to ten writers. With The Flash release date having been pushed back so many times, different directors coming and going, and several changes to the storyline, we can only imagine that DCEU movie is the one responsible for these unfathomable figures.
While this is entirely speculative, and we don’t actually know for sure what movie the report is talking about, the assumption that The Flash has had 45 different writers is not unfounded.
A quick scout of the background of the troubled time travel movie shows that from 2004, when the project was first put into motion, there have been 15 different writers publicly acknowledged in contributing to the script in some way, shape, or form. If that’s what we know publicly, imagine the behind the scenes.
Of course, it could still be anything else from DC, from the MCU, or something like Kraven the Hunter or Morbius. These kind of films frequently go through long development processes, where many filmmakers give it a once over.
According to an insider, it’s “basically impossible” for all 45 writers to receive credit for their work on this movie. The news of this massive mixing bowl of writers aligns with a worrying trend among screenwriters, where a lot of projects are now having up to 20 writers involved throughout development.
With the conveyor belt of movies, particularly superhero movies, becoming more and more fast-paced and ruthless, the role of the screenwriter is becoming all the more interchangeable and insecure. All of which is frankly no good for anyone.