Allen / The Flash; Miller first made cameo appearances in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) and Suicide Squad (2016), starred in the team-up film Justice League (2017), and briefly appeared in the Arrowverse crossover event "Crisis on Infinite Earths" (2019–20) which acknowledged a wider DC Multiverse. Warner Bros. offered James Wan the choice of directing a movie about either Aquaman or the Flash, and he ultimately chose to make Aquaman (2018). By April 2015, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller were writing a story treatment for the Flash film with the possibility of directing it. After they decided to direct Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018) instead, Seth Grahame-Smith entered negotiations to write and direct the film based on Lord and Miller's treatment in October 2015. Grahame-Smith was set to make his directorial debut with the film, with Roven producing, and Deborah and Zack Snyder executive producing. In February 2016, the film's release date was moved forward to March 16, 2018. Grahame-Smith left the project that April, citing creative differences. Warner Bros. chose to retain his script, and he was still expected to be involved in the project moving forward, while Lord and Miller were also still involved as producers. A search for a replacement director began immediately. Rick Famuyiwa was hired to take over as director in June 2016, with Warner Bros. feeling that Famuyiwa's vision for the film would both resonate with younger audiences and also be compatible with Grahame-Smith's existing script. Filming was expected to begin later in 2016 and was not believed to be delayed by the director change. Famuyiwa's top choice to portray the film's female lead, Iris West, was Kiersey Clemons who he had worked with on Dope (2015). Rita Ora and Lucy Boynton were also in the running for the role, but Clemons was cast as the character at the end of July. At that time, Warner Bros. gave the film's release date to Tomb Raider (2018), leaving The Flash without a release date. In August, Ray Fisher was set to appear in the film, reprising his role as Victor Stone / Cyborg from Batman v Superman and Justice League. Famuyiwa completed a revision of the script a month later, when Gal Gadot was set to reprise her role as Diana Prince / Wonder Woman from Batman v Superman, Wonder Woman (2017), and Justice League, and Billy Crudup was in negotiations to