"The Authority Film Delayed: James Gunn Cites Challenges Amid The Boys' Success"

It seems like the much-anticipated DCU movie, The Authority, is facing significant challenges, as revealed by DC Studios co-chief James Gunn. Initially announced as part of the ambitious Chapter 1: Gods and Monsters DC Universe reboot, The Authority was intended to be a major film focusing on the notorious and brutal superhero team from the WildStorm Universe. However, Gunn has now admitted that the project has been put on the "back burner."

During a recent DC Studios presentation, Gunn highlighted The Authority as the "hardest" project within the Chapter 1 lineup. He cited the influence of Amazon's successful series, The Boys, and the complexities of integrating The Authority into the broader DC Universe narrative as major hurdles. "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 challenge of balancing the introduction of new characters with those already established in the DCU, expressing a desire to continue their stories and see them interact. "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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Despite the delays, one character from The Authority, the electronics prodigy The Engineer / Angela Spica, is set to make an appearance in the DCU kickstarter film, Superman. The Engineer is renowned for her extraordinary abilities, including self-duplication, technopathy, genius-level intellect, and radio-induced telepathy. For more information on The Authority and its characters, you can 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 lineup. Gunn also mentioned that Waller, a spinoff from his HBO Max series Peacemaker, has encountered "a couple of setbacks." On a more positive note, the HBO Max series Booster Gold is reportedly "going pretty strong," and Paradise Lost remains a significant focus, with Gunn stating, "It seems to be going pretty well. The pilot's being written right now," as confirmed by Peter Safran.

Regarding Swamp Thing, Safran indicated that DC Studios is prepared to wait for acclaimed director James Mangold, who is currently working on another project, 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. Gunn added that Swamp Thing is "not integral to the larger story that we're telling," clarifying that it was always intended to stand somewhat apart from the main DCU narrative.