DCU's The Authority Film Delayed, Gunn Cites Challenges Amid The Boys' Success

It seems that DCU's movie The Authority is facing some challenges, as confirmed by DC Studios co-chief James Gunn, who revealed that the project has been placed on the "back burner." Initially announced as part of Gunn and Peter Safran's expansive Chapter 1: Gods and Monsters DC Universe reboot two years ago, The Authority was pitched as a significant film centered around the notoriously brutal superhero team from the WildStorm Universe. However, it appears that the project has encountered substantial hurdles.

During a DC Studios presentation attended by IGN, Gunn admitted that The Authority is the most challenging of the announced Chapter 1 projects. He cited the influence of Amazon's hit series The Boys as a contributing factor to the 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 further elaborated on the complexities, noting the desire to continue the stories of beloved characters already filmed and to facilitate their interactions. "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."

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One character from The Authority, electronics prodigy The Engineer / Angela Spica, is set to appear in the DCU kickstarter Superman. The Engineer is notably one of the most powerful members of the group, possessing abilities such as self-duplication, technopathy, genius-level intellect, and radio-induced telepathy. For more detailed information on the characters, check out IGN's article, Who Are the Authority: The WildStorm DCU Characters Explained.

The Authority isn't the only project within Chapter 1: Gods and Monsters facing difficulties. Gunn mentioned that Waller, a spinoff from his successful HBO Max series Peacemaker, has also experienced "a couple of setbacks." However, the HBO Max series Booster Gold is "going pretty strong," and Paradise Lost remains a priority, with Gunn stating, "It's totally, still important and we're working heavily on it. It seems to be going pretty well." Peter Safran confirmed that the pilot for Paradise Lost is currently being written.

Regarding Swamp Thing, Safran indicated that DC Studios is prepared to wait for director James Mangold, who is currently working on another project titled 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 remarked, referring to Mangold's upcoming Star Wars movie, Dawn of the Jedi.

However, Gunn clarified that Swamp Thing is not crucial to the overarching narrative they are crafting. "Right. Yeah, it was always outside of that," Gunn added. "I mean, it was because James came to us with it, frankly."