AsSupermancontinues to dominate the conversation as the highest-grossing superhero movie of 2025, it’s safe to say that the fate of theDCUis no longer up in the air. However, that doesn’t mean that some projects, announced in 2023, are still on the way. This is especially true forThe Authority, as the plannedSupermanspin-off has seensome setbacks during development. If James Gunn’s latest statement is any indication, DC fans should temper their expectations about the film actually happening.
While speaking with StrawHatGoofy at San Diego Comic-Con, Gunn teased what was up next in the DCU slate afterSuperman. As they rattle off the impending titles,The Authoritypops up, prompting Gunn to give a status update. In perhaps the most honest reaction to the film’s development, Gunn proceeds to simply laugh. He was likely trying to find the right words to say, but it ends up being the perfect indicator thatThe Authorityis far away from becoming a reality than when it was announced a few years ago. you may check out the interview below:
George R.R. Martin Should Be Writing ‘The Winds of Winter,’ but He Is Watching ‘Superman’ Instead - and Didn’t Hold Back In His Review
The ‘Game of Thrones’ author has not held back in his review of James Gunn’s ‘Superman’
The Authority, which Gunn was reportedly considering directing afterSuperman, has faced numerous issues during the script phase. The DC Studios co-CEO admitted as much during a recent interview, revealing that it has had “a harder time coming along” compared to the rest of the DCU slate. Of course, there is a chance that the film, which would have likely starredMaría Gabriela de Faría asThe Engineer, is blended into a directSupermansequel. The spin-off was speculated to set up a confrontation between the morally gray superhero team and the Kryptonian boy scout.
DC Studios Recently Canceled a DCU Film That Was “Not Good”
James Gunn has been celebratory about the success ofSuperman, but he has been just as candid about what has not worked for the DCU thus far. In addition to his latest reaction toThe Authority, Gunnrecently told NPRthat a greenlit film was canceled just as the creative parties were ramping up for production due to a screenplay that, despite numerous drafts, was “not good.” It’s not clear if this was aboutThe Authority, or another DCU project, likeSwamp Thing, but it has become overwhelmingly clear that DC Studios isn’t playing around with their commitment to only shoot top-notch scripts. Gunn’s (lengthy) quote:
“We had a screenplay that - you know, a movie that was greenlit. We got second draft and third draft, and it just wasn’t changing. It wasn’t getting better. It was staying in the same place. And I said, ‘We can’t make this film. We can’t. It’s not good. We know it’s not good.’ Just because we have a good director attached and a good screenwriter, it doesn’t mean the script is working. Everyone is going to be upset at the end of this. It’s going to come out, the movie’s not going to be good. Director’s going to look bad, screenwriter’s going to look bad, and we’re going to look bad. So I don’t want to have this. We’re not going to make the movie. And so we killed it.
I would be surprised if it’s ever happened at a studio ‘cause that’s just not the way things work. People are really excited to have something greenlit, and then they go and they just make it because they have to say yes to everybody, and they don’t want to disappoint everybody. You know, for all the talk of the movie business being so based on dollars and cents, it is based on like me, like me, like me, like me, like me. And it’s terrible. People don’t want to be not liked. They don’t want to let people down, and it’s terrible. It’s not good for anyone.”
