Superman: Legacy’s James Gunn Walks Back Authority Rumors

With Superman: Legacy still two years from hitting theaters, there are plenty of rumors out there about the eagerly anticipated DC Studios film — particularly about the heroes and villains that could be featured in the first film for the new DCU slate. One set of characters who has been highly speculated to make an appearance in Superman: Legacy is The Authority, but now, the film’s writer and director (as well as DC Studios co-chief) James Gunn is walking that rumor back. On Threads, Gunn replied to a fan asking for a hint regarding the main villain for Superman: Legacy. The fan mentioned in their question that “we already know the Authority will be present” and in his response, Gunn was direct: he’s never said The Authority would be involved.

“I never said The Authority would be present,” he wrote.

View on X

Gunn’s comment comes in the wake of recent rumors that multiple heroes will appear in Superman: Legacy, with Michael Holt/Mr. Terrific being one of them while another report indicated that members of The Authority could also appear. Interestingly, Gunn’s comment doesn’t necessarily rule out the idea that members of The Authority could appear, just that the established team might not.

The Authority Movie is in The Works

While Gunn’s comment walks back the rumor that the team could appear in Superman: Legacy, what we do know is that The Authority is coming. Earlier this year, it was announced that a The Authority movie is in the works from DC Studios.

“The Authority. So, this is one of my real passion projects, I’ve been working really hard on it with a writer, is we’re starting to put together the entire story,” Gunn said. 

He later elaborated, explaining why DC Studios is going with this particular property.

“Yeah, this is a big movie and I don’t know how many of you know are familiar with The Authority… The Authority is a very different kind of superhero story. They are basically good intention, but they think that the world is completely broken and the only way to fix it is to take things into their own hands, whether that means killing people, destroying heads of state, changing governments, whatever they want to do to make the world better. And we’ll see how that journey goes for them. But as I said earlier, there’s morally gray characters of which these are.”

What Do We Know About Superman: Legacy

Per DC Studios, Superman: Legacy tells the story of Superman’s journey to reconcile his Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing as Clark Kent of Smallville, Kansas. He is the embodiment of truth, justice, and the American way, guided by human kindness in a world that sees kindness as old-fashioned.

We also know a bit of casting for the film. It was recently announced that David Corenswet has been cast as Clark Kent while Rachel Brosnahan will play Lois Lane. The news of their casting was subsequently confirmed in a tweet by Gunn, who responded to the news with “Accurate! (They are not only both incredible actors, but also wonderful people).”

Superman: Legacy is set to debut exclusively in theaters on July 11, 2025.