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 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 touted as a major film featuring the notoriously brutal superhero team from the WildStorm Universe. However, Gunn recently revealed at a DC Studios presentation that the project has encountered significant hurdles.

Gunn highlighted The Authority as the "hardest" project among those announced for Chapter 1, citing the impact of Amazon's successful series The Boys and the broader influence of The Authority on other media as contributing factors. "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 desire to continue the stories of characters already filmed and to see them interact, which adds to the complexity of the project.

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One character from The Authority, the electronics prodigy The Engineer / Angela Spica, is set to appear in the DCU's kickstarter film Superman. The Engineer is considered one of the most powerful members of the team, 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 also mentioned 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 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.

Regarding Swamp Thing, Safran indicated that DC Studios is prepared to wait for director James Mangold, who is currently working on another project titled 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. Gunn added that Swamp Thing is not central to the larger narrative they are crafting, stating, "Right. Yeah, it was always outside of that. I mean, it was because James came to us with it, frankly."