Development on a film adaptation of The Authority has stalled at DC Studios.
On Threads, James Gunn revealed he is no longer currently working to bring the DC Comics superhero team to the big screen… for now.
“The script wasn’t quite there but more importantly it didn’t work in terms of the larger DCU both in terms of the story and practical concerns. Maybe some day. Not soon,” Gunn shared on the social media app in late April 2026.
According to Variety, in a Threads response to fan questions about The Authority, the DC Studios co-CEO revealed he never planned to write or direct the film himself.
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The Authority was initially one of 10 projects Gunn and DC Studios co-CEO Peter Safran announced in early 2023 when they revealed their plans for the new DC Universe.
“It isn’t just a story of heroes and villains, and not every movie and TV show is going to be about good guy versus bad guy. There are people that are very questionable, like the Authority, who basically believe that you can’t fix the world in an easy manner, and they take things into their own hands,” Gunn teased of the film, which he and Safran said was “being written now” back in 2023.
The other four film projects aside from The Authority were Superman, which released last year; Supergirl, due in theaters on June 26; as well as Swamp Thing and The Brave and the Bold, both still in development.
Creatively helmed by Gunn, the ongoing DCU officially kicked off with the HBO Max animated streaming series Creature Commandos in late 2024, and hit the big screen with Superman in 2025.
Man of Tomorrow, the sequel to the latter, is currently in production and slated for theatrical release on July 9, 2027.
Who Is DC’s The Authority?
Launched in 1999 under the Wildstorm imprint, The Authority is a DC Comics series co-created by writer Warren Ellis and artist Bryan Hitch.
The series follows a team of controversial superheroes who use lethal force to protect the Earth and dish out justice on their own, less-idealistic terms. Unlike the Justice League, The Authority answer only to themselves, and aren’t above ignoring international law or morals to eliminate enemies.
Some members of the team over the years have included Jenny Sparks, Midnighter, Jack Hawksmoor, Apollo, Swift, the Doctor, and the Engineer.
Technically, one of the members of The Authority have already appeared in the DCU: Played by María Gabriela de Faría, the Engineer, AKA Angelica Spica, was featured in 2025’s Superman, in which the nanotechnology-enhanced warrior teamed up with Lex Luthor.
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