It seems that the DCU movie The Authority is facing challenges, as confirmed by DC Studios co-chief James Gunn, who admitted that the project has been moved to the "back burner."
The Authority was initially announced as a key part of Gunn and Peter Safran's ambitious Chapter 1: Gods and Monsters DC Universe reboot. This film was set to introduce the notoriously brutal superhero team from the WildStorm Universe. At the time of its announcement, Gunn described it as a "big movie," but it has encountered significant hurdles.
During a DC Studios presentation attended by IGN, Gunn highlighted The Authority as the "hardest" project within the Chapter 1 lineup. He cited Amazon's successful adaptation of The Boys as a contributing factor to these difficulties.
“Honestly, Authority's been the one that's been the hardest, both because of the shifting overall story and because of getting it right in a world with The Boys and a world with all the things that The Authority influenced that came out after it,” Gunn explained.
He also mentioned the challenge of integrating characters already filmed and loved by fans, wanting to continue their stories and see them interact. “And also having a lot of characters that we've fallen in love with that we've already filmed and have that we want to continue their stories and see them meet each other. So I will admittedly say it's a little bit more on the back burner right now.”
DC Universe: Every Upcoming Movie and TV Show
38 Images
One character from The Authority, the electronics prodigy The Engineer / Angela Spica, is set to appear in the DCU's kickoff film, Superman. The Engineer is considered one of the most powerful members of the team, with abilities including self-duplication, technopathy, genius-level intellect, and radio-induced telepathy. For more information on the team, check out IGN's article, Who Are the Authority: The WildStorm DCU Characters Explained.
The Authority isn't the only project in the Chapter 1: Gods and Monsters lineup facing issues. Gunn also mentioned that Waller, a spinoff of his HBO Max series Peacemaker, has experienced "a couple of setbacks." However, the HBO Max series Booster Gold is "going pretty strong," and Paradise Lost is "totally, still important and we're working heavily on it," according to Gunn. "It seems to be going pretty well." Peter Safran confirmed that "The pilot's being written right now."
Regarding Swamp Thing, Safran indicated that DC Studios is prepared to wait for director James Mangold, who is currently working on another project, A Complete Unknown. "Our writer-director went off to make another little movie, A Complete Unknown, and we hope that he'll come back to Swamp Thing when he's ready, because again, that was one of those ones that we love him as a filmmaker, so we're happy to wait for him," Safran said, also mentioning Mangold's upcoming Star Wars movie, Dawn of the Jedi.
However, Gunn clarified that Swamp Thing "is not integral to the larger story that we're telling." "Right. Yeah, it was always outside of that," Gunn added. "I mean, it was because James came to us with it, frankly."
