It appears that the DCU movie The Authority is facing some challenges, as confirmed by DC Studios co-chief James Gunn, who admitted that the project has been placed on the "back burner." Announced as part of Gunn and Peter Safran's ambitious Chapter 1: Gods and Monsters DC Universe reboot two years ago, The Authority was initially described as a "big movie." However, it has encountered significant difficulties since its announcement.
During a DC Studios presentation attended by IGN, Gunn described The Authority as the "hardest" project among the Chapter 1 lineup. He cited the success of Amazon's The Boys and the influence of The Authority on subsequent works as contributing factors to these challenges. Gunn elaborated, "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."
Additionally, Gunn mentioned the need to integrate characters already filmed and beloved by fans into the broader DCU narrative, which has further complicated the development of The Authority. He stated, "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
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One character from The Authority, the electronics prodigy The Engineer / Angela Spica, is set to appear in the DCU's kickstarter movie, Superman. The Engineer is arguably the most powerful member of the group, capable of self-duplication, technopathy, and possessing a genius-level intellect along with 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 is not the only project facing difficulties within the Chapter 1: Gods and Monsters lineup. Gunn also mentioned that Waller, a spinoff of his HBO Max hit series Peacemaker, "has had a couple of setbacks, frankly." On a more positive note, the HBO Max series Booster Gold "is going pretty strong," and Paradise Lost is "totally, still important and we're working heavily on it," Gunn said, adding, "It seems to be going pretty well." Peter Safran confirmed, "The pilot's being written right now."
As for Swamp Thing, Safran noted that DC Studios is willing to wait for acclaimed director James Mangold, who is currently working on another project, A Complete Unknown. Safran expressed optimism about Mangold's return to Swamp Thing, stating, "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." Gunn added that Swamp Thing "is not integral to the larger story that we're telling," clarifying, "Right. Yeah, it was always outside of that. I mean, it was because James came to us with it, frankly."
