James Gunn has correctly identified a big challenge the DCU’s The Authority movie is facing at the moment. The DCU’s “Gods and Monsters” chapter is progressing at a steady pace, with Creature Commandos launching the franchise with an animated installment that lays the foundations for an expansive, lived-in universe filled with all kinds of characters from all over the DCU’s fictional Earth. Meanwhile, James Gunn’s Superman kicks off the DCU’s live-action format with the introduction of several key characters, including villains like Maria Gabriela de Faría’s the Engineer and heroes like Nathan Fillion’s Guy Gardner.
As anticipation for Superman rises and multiple other DCU projects get greenlit, James Gunn reveals a few updates about the DCU’s current status. Among other news, Gunn has announced a Krypto spinoff series, confirmed that Robert Pattinson won’t play the DCU’s Batman in The Brave and the Bold, and teased a darker tone for Lanterns. A few other projects haven’t received similarly significant updates, but Gunn has confirmed that they’re being worked on. One of these projects is the DCU’s upcoming The Authority movie, which hasn’t set a release date or announced a director.
The Boys Has Had Huge Success As A TV Show Because Of How Big The Superhero Genre Has Grown On-Screen
The Authority Will Probably Spark Comparisons To The Boys One Way Or Another
James Gunn didn’t reveal any new information about the DCU’s The Authority during his February announcement, but he stated that both The Authority and Waller are currently on the back burner. Gunn mentioned that The Authority‘s similarities to Amazon’s The Boys have presented a challenge, and suggested The Authority won’t be a priority at the moment as a result. Although The Authority‘s the Engineer will make her debut in Superman, it might take a long while for the rest of her teammates to ᴀssemble on the big screen. Read James Gunn’s full comments:
“I mean, honestly, Authority has 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, 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 story to see them meet each other, and so it been, I will admit it and say it’s a little bit more on the back burner right now.”
The Boys has gathered a huge following not only because of its shocking action sequences and the quality of its scripts and performances, but also because of its premise. The Boys deconstructs the superhero genre with R-rated jabs at all the clichés and tropes that franchises like the MCU and the DCEU are known for. Homelander satirizes characters like Superman and Captain America, and Queen Maeve parodies heroes like Wonder Woman and Thor, for example. The Boys also pokes fun at superhero team-ups and internal conflicts among superhero teams.
Superhero movies and shows have popularized so many comic book characters that even their parodies and deconstructions have become mainstream. Properties like DC’s Suicide Squad and Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy offer alternate takes on traditional superheroes, yet they’ve gathered as many fans as the Justice League and the Avengers themselves. The Boys goes one step further in its criticism of superheroes, both in-universe and in regard to real-life production of superhero media, by enhancing the absurdity of the heroes’ violence, moral dilemmas, and public perception.
The Authority Has Some Striking Similarities To The Boys
The Authority And The Boys Poke Fun At Superhero Teams With A Dark Twist
Amazon’s The Boys premiered in 2019, based on a comic series first published in 2006. Seven years before The Boys’ first printed issue, DC Comics’ The Authority introduced a team of superheroes that satirized comic book tropes with hero parallels to the Justice League. Apollo and Midnighter, for example, are clear counterparts to Superman and Batman, respectively. Similarly to The Boys, The Authority’s heroes take much more drastic measures to crime-fighting than the regular superhero team, and their violent approach to crime-fighting often leads to more problems than the ones they should be solving.
While the Authority’s heroes genuinely believe they’re doing the right thing more often than the Seven, both The Boys‘ “The Seven” and The Authority‘s тιтular team clash with governments and insтιтutions due to their unchecked power. The Authority’s heroes also take it upon themselves to impart justice, while the Seven are portrayed as corporate puppets. Still, authoritarianism, ultraviolence, and corruption are at the heart of both teams.
Balancing Making The Authority Not Too Similar To The Boys But Also Not Too Far Away From Its Source Material Looks Like It Could Be A Real Challenge
The DCU’s Authority Can’t Abandon Its Satirical Roots
At this point, The Boys is now synonymous with superhero satire, and Amazon’s live-action series has adopted an idenтιтy of its own that has become leagues more popular than its source material. In spite of the fact that The Authority precedes Amazon’s The Boys by two decades, it may be too difficult for The Authority to avoid comparisons. The Authority and the Seven are very similar in terms of dynamics and motivations, and a few of the Authority’s members could be mistakenly believed to be inspired by The Boys’ twisted heroes.
On the other hand, trying to avoid comparisons to The Boys could take away everything that makes The Authority so special. Superhero teams with gray morals and questionable methods abound, but few are as powerful and brutal as The Authority. Less controversial personalities could make the DCU’s The Authority team more akin to the Justice League, and increasing their violence would risk making them a parody of their own comic book counterparts. Fortunately, James Gunn’s successful reinvention of the Suicide Squad is a good sign that DC Studios and The Authority’s director will find a way to make the DCU movie stand apart from The Boys.
Upcoming DC Movie Releases
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Superman
- Release Date
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July 11, 2025
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Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow
- Release Date
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June 26, 2026
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The Batman Part II
- Release Date
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October 1, 2027
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