James Gunn has correctly identified a big challenge theDCU’sThe Authoritymovie is facing at the moment.The DCU’s “Gods and Monsters” chapteris progressing at a steady pace, withCreature Commandoslaunching 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’sSupermankicks 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 forSupermanrises 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 inThe Brave and the Bold, and teased a darker tone forLanterns. 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 upcomingThe Authoritymovie, which hasn’t set a release date or announced a director.
The Authority Will Probably Spark Comparisons To The Boys One Way Or Another
James Gunn didn’t reveal any new information about the DCU’sThe Authorityduring his February announcement, but he stated that bothThe AuthorityandWallerare currently on the back burner.Gunn mentioned thatThe Authority’s similarities to Amazon’sThe Boyshave presented a challenge, and suggestedThe Authoritywon’t be a priority at the moment as a result. AlthoughThe Authority’s the Engineer will make her debut inSuperman, it might take a long while for the rest of her teammates to assemble 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 Boyshas 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 Boysdeconstructs 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 Boysalso pokes fun at superhero team-ups and internal conflicts among superhero teams.
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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 Boysgoes 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’sThe Boyspremiered in 2019, based on a comic series first published in 2006. Seven years beforeThe Boys’ first printed issue,DC Comics’The Authorityintroduced a team of superheroes that satirized comic book tropeswith hero parallels to the Justice League. Apollo and Midnighter, for example, are clear counterparts to Superman and Batman, respectively. Similarly toThe 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, bothThe Boys' “The Seven” andThe Authority’s titular team clash with governments and institutions 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 Boysis now synonymous with superhero satire, and Amazon’s live-action series has adopted an identity of its own that has become leagues more popular than its source material. In spite of the fact thatThe Authorityprecedes Amazon’sThe Boysby two decades, it may be too difficult forThe Authorityto avoid comparisons. The Authority and the Seven are very similar in terms of dynamics and motivations, anda few of the Authority’s members could be mistakenly believed to be inspired byThe Boys’ twisted heroes.
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On the other hand, trying to avoid comparisons toThe Boyscould take away everything that makesThe Authorityso 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 Squadis a good sign that DC Studios andThe Authority’s director will find a way to make the DCU movie stand apart fromThe Boys.
