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

It seems that the DCU movie The Authority is facing some challenges, as DC Studios co-chief James Gunn has admitted that the project has been put on the "back burner." Announced as part of Gunn and Peter Safran's Chapter 1: Gods and Monsters DC Universe reboot, The Authority was initially described by Gunn as a "big movie." However, it appears to have encountered significant hurdles.

During a DC Studios presentation attended by IGN, Gunn revealed that The Authority is the "hardest" project among those announced for Chapter 1. He cited Amazon's successful adaptation of The Boys as one of the contributing factors to the difficulties. Gunn explained, "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 challenge of integrating The Authority with other characters already filmed and loved by fans, stating, "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 kickstarter Superman. The Engineer is known for her extraordinary abilities, including self-duplication, technopathy, genius-level intellect, and radio-induced telepathy. For more information on The Authority, check out IGN's article, Who Are the Authority: The WildStorm DCU Characters Explained.

The Authority is not the only project in Chapter 1: Gods and Monsters facing difficulties. Gunn mentioned that Waller, a spinoff of his HBO Max series Peacemaker, has "had a couple of setbacks." However, he noted that the HBO Max series Booster Gold "is going pretty strong," and Paradise Lost is "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 stated that DC Studios is willing to wait for director James Mangold, who is currently working on another project titled A Complete Unknown, before he returns to Swamp Thing. Safran emphasized their admiration for Mangold, saying, "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," and it was brought to them by Mangold himself.