James Gunn in a social media conversation Monday revealed that development on the The Authority is taking a break.
The feature film about a DC rogue squad was initially announced as one of his hot projects when he first took the reins of DC Studios in January 2023.
“I never had an intention of writing or directing The Authority,” wrote Gunn on Threads. “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.”
Even a year ago Gunn during a DC press day appearance had expressed hesitation about The Authority, saying it had a sluggish development.
“It is a very big movie, if you’re going to do it properly. Some of the story elements perhaps that are in Superman and some of the other films we fast-tracked, step a little on The Authority … [It’s] the one that got messed with through all of the other things that were happening. The script had a harder time coming along,” said Gunn in February 2025.
Gunn, during the Gods and Monsters press day three years ago, said he loved The Authority in its mix of antiheroes who take matters into their own hands despite what governments advise. The Authority was created after StormWatch, a planetary defense force against aliens, was destroyed. The former member of that group, Jenny Sparks, created the Authority with her StormWatch Black teammates Swift and Jack Hawksmoor. That team also included The Engineer (Angela Spica), Jeroen Thornedike (the latest Doctor), Apollo and Midnighter. The Authority comic books first launched in 1992.
In better news, Gunn also revealed on Threads that the Booster Gold TV series remains in development, while Paradise Lost is in “extreme development.”
Booster Gold is billed as a loser from the future who uses future technology to come back to today and pretend to be a superhero. “Imposter syndrome as a superhero,” explained Gunn at the first DC presser. In February 2025, Gunn and his DC co-head Peter Safran said the project remained important to them. They had been waiting on a big showrunner to attach, but they fell through.
Said Safran three years ago about Paradise Lost: “It’s going to be a Games of Thrones-ish story about Themyscira, the home of the Amazons and the birthplace of Wonder Woman. This drama is really about the political intrigue behind the society of all women. How did that come about?”
Added Gunn then, “What’s the beautiful truths and the ugly truths behind all of that and what’s the scheming like between all the power players in that society?”
Paradise Lost is expected to take place before the birth of Diana (aka Wonder Woman).
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