DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn officially killed a major DCU blockbuster and Superman spin-off movie. Creature Commandos may have been the first DCU project, but Superman truly launched the saga by debuting David Corenswet's Superman, the Justice Gang, and other major players in James Gunn and Peter Safran's larger tale. Its sequel, Man of Tomorrow, is in production for a July 9, 2027 release, but DC Studios is also cooking up a number (which just got one lower) of projects that will act as Superman spin-offs.
As James Gunn took to Threads with the latest updates on five DCU projects, there was only bad news for those who were eagerly anticipating The Authority, an ensemble team-up of morally ambiguous heroes that was set up in Superman.
The Authority was one of the first DCU movies announced by Gunn as part of the DCU's Chapter 1: Gods and Monsters slate. Updates have since been scarce, and no creatives were ever announced, with rumors pointing to everyone from Drew Goddard to Matthew Vaughn to Gunn himself taking a stab at The Authority.
Sadly, having previously confirmed troubles getting its script moving, Gunn has now admitted that, despite being set up in last year's Superman, The Authority has been canceled. He cited a number of reasons why the Superman spin-off was scrapped, noting struggles fitting it into the larger DCU "in terms of the story and practical concerns," placing The Authority on the shelf for now at least:
"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. I would have never had time to do this and although I know this is a popular theory online I never had an intention of writing or directing The Authority."
One long-standing member of the Authority is Angela Spica, aka The Engineer, whose bloodstream is infused with nanites, giving her a liquid body that can shapeshift and manipulate technology. She was introduced in Superman as the first Authority member to appear in the DCU, played by Maria Gabriela de Faria.
The DCU made some changes for Spica, tying her origins to Nicholas Hoult's Lex Luthor and giving her a drive to take on Superman and other metahumans. It has since been teased that the Engineer will return in Man of Tomorrow, but there have been no updates on other Authority members joining the DCU anytime soon.
DC Studios Is Continuing Superman's Story In 5 Major Projects
DCU fans already enjoyed the first Superman spin-off last year, as Gunn declared HBO Max's Peacemaker Season 2 to be a sequel to the movie. Not only did the Gunn-written show feature cameos from two Justice Gangers, but it also continued the pocket dimension story involving Lex Luthor that began in Superman.
A brief cameo from Nicholas Hoult's bald-headed genius was enough to pick up his story where it left off, confirming his new prison home and debuting an alliance with Frank Grillo's Rick Flag Sr. to utilize his Superman tech to create Salvation.
After Superman introduced the Justice Gang, including Nathan Fillion's Guy Gardner, the A-hole Green Lantern had his own cameo in Peacemaker Season 2 in an interview committee for new recruits to Maxwell Lord's superhero team.
While this August's HBO show, Lanterns, will be centered around two new Green Lantern heroes, it will somewhat spin out of Superman through Guy Gardner's return. The Justice Gang leader has been promised to be more outrageous than ever in Lanterns as he interacts with Aaron Pierre's John Stewart for the first time.
In what is more of a Superman sequel than a spin-off, next year's Man of Tomorrow will pick up from the 2025 blockbuster in many key ways. Most notably, the rivalry between David Corenswet's Superman and Hoult's Lex Luthor will once again be the crux of the James Gunn-directed flick.
This time around, that rivalry will be put aside as both aim to fend off Lars Eidinger's Brainiac. Fans can also look forward to spending more time with much of Superman's supporting cast, from the Justice Gang to Daily Planet mainstays: Rachel Brosnahan's Lois Lane and Skyler Gisondo's Jimmy Olsen.
Most only know Jimmy Olsen as Clark Kent's best friend, but that hasn't stopped Gunn from pushing forward with a spin-off show for the Daily Planet photographer. The series is created by Dan Perrault and Tony Yacenda of American Vandal fame, who proclaimed their Olsen-led DCU series to be a "crime mystery comedy."
The HBO Max venture is believed to be a true-crime-inspired docuseries that sees Olsen and the Daily Planet crew from Superman investigating DCU supervillains, starting out with the infamous Flash baddie Gorilla Grodd.
The first reports that stated that Olsen will receive his own DCU spin-off show also claimed Edi Gathegi's Mr. Terrific, aka Michael Holt, aka the supergenius of the Justice Gang, is in line to lead a series. Many were clamoring for a Mr. Terrific spin-off project as soon as he became a breakout fan-favorite after Superman.
Nothing has been confirmed about the project since then, but some have speculated that it could center around the Terrifics, a team led by Mr. Terrific. If Holt leaves the Justice Gang to found his own team after the events of Superman, he could be taking Anthony Carrigan's Metamorpho with him, since the element-manipulating hero is a member of the Terrifics in the comics.
Upon announcing his first Chapter 1 slate, James Gunn announced Superman as the "true beginning of the DCU," despite releasing after Creature Commandos. It's increasingly easy to see how that is the case, with several of the upcoming projects spinning out of Superman and its lead characters in key ways.
That also would have been the case for The Authority through Maria Gabriela de Faria's The Engineer before DC Studios opted to axe the Chapter 1 ensemble.
