The Authority Film Delayed: Gunn Struggles to Match The Boys' Tone

It appears that DC Studios' planned film The Authority is facing some challenges, as co-chief James Gunn has admitted it has been placed on the "back burner." This project was initially announced as part of Gunn and Peter Safran's ambitious Chapter 1: Gods and Monsters DC Universe reboot two years ago. The Authority is based on the notoriously brutal superhero team from the WildStorm Universe, and Gunn had described it as a "big movie" at the time of its announcement. However, it seems to have encountered significant hurdles since then.

During a DC Studios presentation covered by IGN, Gunn labeled The Authority as the "hardest" project among those announced for Chapter 1: Gods and Monsters. He cited the success of Amazon's adaptation of The Boys as one of the factors complicating its development. Gunn elaborated on the challenges, stating, "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 also mentioned the need to balance the project with other DC characters they've filmed and want to continue developing, saying, "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 ImagesOne character from The Authority, The Engineer / Angela Spica, is set to appear in the DCU's kickstarter Superman. The Engineer is considered one of the most powerful members of the group, 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 Chapter 1: Gods and Monsters facing difficulties. Gunn revealed that Waller, a spinoff of his HBO Max series Peacemaker, has experienced "a couple of setbacks." 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," according to Gunn. Peter Safran confirmed that the pilot for Paradise Lost is currently being written.

Regarding Swamp Thing, Safran stated that DC Studios is willing to wait for director James Mangold, who is currently working on another film, 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. Gunn added that Swamp Thing "is not integral to the larger story that we're telling," and it was always intended to be somewhat separate from the main narrative.