James Gunn has confirmed DC Studios is hitting pause on production of The Authority as he and other studio head Peter Safran recalibrate the DCU production slate entirely. The ambitious team-up adapting Warren Ellis' antihero squad, originally slated to follow Superman's July debut, now faces indefinite delays, despite some Authority characters making their first DCU appearances in Gunn's upcoming reboot.

"It's a very, very big movie, if you're going to do The Authority properly... some story elements perhaps that are in Superman and some of the other films that we've fast-tracked step a little bit on The Authority," Safran explained during DC's latest industry briefing with Variety, with Gunn also conceding, "It hasn't been made a priority."

The revelation confirms industry and fan suspicions that the slowly gestating The Authority wasn't gestating at all. Superman will introduce key Authority team members before their planned full assembly, but with Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, Lanterns, and Peacemaker primed to take centerstage, it seems likely The Authority's story could continue without its own self-titled vehicle. Even so, the change represents a significant alteration to the original DCU slate announcement, where Gunn positioned the Warren Ellis adaptation as a direct follow-up to his Superman film.

Variety's report claims that Gunn and Safran's Feb. 21 conference "while informative and insightful, lacked a sense of immediate urgency" with "[no] major announcements." Yet, speculation about DCU's now-confirmed delays (Waller is also stalled) existed for good reason. Gunn hasn't shied away from letting his prioritizing patience during the production process be known, even saying at the February presentation, "It is hard enough to make a good movie with a good script...It’s almost impossible making a movie with a script that you’re writing on the run." The approach has been met with cautious optimism after a deluge of disappointing Marvel Cinematic Universe entries, which have suffered through maligned production processes.

Though their focused outing is shelved for now, fans satiating for The Authority on screen can get a small fix when they watch Superman in theaters this July.

Source: Variety