In recent years, superhero films adapted from comic books have become a significant trend in the film industry, particularly in Hollywood. DC Comics has officially entered the race against Marvel with two blockbuster releases this year: Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad. Notably, the introduction of superhero characters in Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice has left a strong impression on audiences, especially with Ezra Miller’s portrayal of Flash.
On screen, we only briefly catch glimpses of Flash moving at high speed, often as a blur or just a flash of motion, and it’s challenging for viewers to see him running clearly. This has led many audiences to believe that playing Flash opposite Ezra is indeed a challenging task, as he only needs to appear in a few scenes while running, and yet there is much more to the intricate running sequences.
However, in reality, creating the scenes where Flash moves quickly required Ezra to exert considerable effort, especially since he had to run continuously during the filming of those scenes, which were often shot with minimal cuts.
In a recent interview with Fox 5 DC promoting his appearance in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Ezra shared insights into the high-speed running scenes of Flash, stating:
“There are scenes where I need to run. And there were times I felt like I’d be running indefinitely because of these scenes. You know, many people think playing Flash would be fantastic, but you can’t really see how he runs, so everything will seem easier! No, no, don’t worry. I always want the scenes to feel authentic. And I had to run on a specific device, which I call The Tumblator; it’s like a 7-8 meter long treadmill that always moves at a speed of 70 km/h.”
“So I felt like I was being pushed into a corner and had to run like this, I had to keep running on the treadmill. But I still tried to create a blend of techniques and treadmill. We wanted to use a specific method to create unique scenes that match Flash’s perspective.”
Thus, we can see that creating the high-speed running scenes for Flash required not just simple treadmill running. In reality, Ezra Miller had to run on a long treadmill while this treadmill moved at a speed of 70 km/h, comparable to a motorcycle or car speeding down a highway.
And he didn’t just have to perform the scene once; he had to do it multiple times to achieve the high-speed running effects we witnessed in Batman V Superman and in the subsequent Justice League film.
