It seems that the DCU movie "The Authority" is facing some challenges after DC Studios co-chief James Gunn admitted it 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 highlighted as a "big movie" featuring the notoriously brutal superhero team from the WildStorm Universe. However, recent updates suggest the project has encountered significant hurdles.
During a DC Studios presentation attended by IGN, Gunn described "The Authority" as the “hardest” project among those announced for Chapter 1: Gods and Monsters. He cited Amazon's successful adaptation of "The Boys" as a contributing factor to the project's 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 beloved by fans into the larger narrative. "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," electronics prodigy The Engineer / Angela Spica, is set to appear in the DCU kickstarter "Superman." The Engineer, arguably the most powerful member of the group, can self-duplicate, is a technopath, and possesses a genius-level intellect and radio-induced telepathy. For more information, check out IGN's article, "Who Are the Authority: The WildStorm DCU Characters Explained."
"The Authority" isn't the only project from Chapter 1: Gods and Monsters facing issues. Gunn mentioned that "Waller," a spinoff of his HBO Max hit series "Peacemaker," has experienced "a couple of setbacks." However, the HBO Max series "Booster Gold" is progressing well, and "Paradise Lost" remains a priority, with Gunn stating, "It seems to be going pretty well." Peter Safran confirmed that the pilot for "Paradise Lost" is currently being written.
As for "Swamp Thing," Safran noted that DC Studios is willing to wait for director James Mangold to be ready. Mangold, who has directed "Logan" and "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny," is currently working on "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 referencing 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 clarified, "Right. Yeah, it was always outside of that. I mean, it was because James came to us with it, frankly."
