Posted in: DC Universe, Movies, Opinion, streaming, TV, TV, Warner Bros | Tagged: dc studios, dcu, james gunn, peter safran, preview, superman, superman legacy

Superman: Legacy: So What About The Authority & Other DCU Heroes?

A report on the casting process behind DC Studios & James Gunn's Superman: Legacy has us wondering about The Authority and other DCU heroes.

In case you didn't realize it, we're apparently in the middle of the limbo waiting period as the casting for DC Studios co-head and writer & director James Gunn's Superman: Legacy is reportedly close to being finalized. In fact, The Hollywood Reporter went live with what are reportedly inside scoops on how things have gone down and who is in the final running for what. But if we're being honest? Playing the "rumblings game" as agents jockey to get their clients better headline real estate isn't something we're really interested in – we'll know when we know. But there was an interesting bit of intel that was mentioned briefly in a previous THR report and is now fleshed out in what hit earlier today. Although Superman: Legacy will be DC Studios' first big-screen effort, the animated series take on writer J. M. DeMatteis & artist Pat Broderick's Creature Commandos will be the first chapter of "Chapter 1 – Gods & Monsters." From a DCU timeline standpoint, that would seem to position DC Studios' Earth as already having superheroes before Superman enters the scene. But now, it looks like we can expect The Authority to make an appearance in Superman: Legacy before the team takes to the big screen with their own film (or any other appearances in any other upcoming DC Studios projects considering the "crossover" potential the team has – think Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury in the MCU).

Created by Warren Ellis & Bryan Hitch in 1999 and first published by DC Comics under the Wildstorm imprint, Gunn referred to The Authority adaptation as a "passion project" of his during the initial DC Studio rollout video. Described as a team that sees things as broken and is willing to do whatever's necessary to make things right, the original team consisted of Jenny Sparks, Jack Hawksmoor, Swift, Apollo, Midnighter, The Engineer, and The Doctor. When discussing the casting rumblings, the THR report had this to say about the "next wave" of casting after the main characters (Superman/Clark Kent, Lois Lane, etc.): "There are also other heroes to cast, such as members of a supergroup named the Authority (part of the new storyline is Superman joining a world in which superheroes already exist)." Along with another direct reference to The Authority being in the film, what's also interesting is the "other heroes" part – will Superman: Legacy also be easter egg-filled with teases of the broader DCU at large? Stay tuned!

James Gunn & Michael Rosenbaum on "Superman: Legacy"

When Michael Rosenbaum and Gunn shifted the conversation to Superman and "Legacy" during a recent episode of the Inside of You podcast, things kicked off with some smiles and some interesting silences regarding the topic of whether or not Krypto would be in the film before Gunn shared how an interview he did with Pratt put that "spoiler" out into the open. From there, Rosenbaum asks Gunn if Superman: Legacy is the biggest-pressure project in his career, considering we're talking about The Man of Steel as well as the co-head of DC Studios writing & directing his big screen return. Gunn admits that the pressure was strong at the beginning – but that changed after he finished the script. "Now, it's fun,' Gunn added, saying that he loves the script and "people love the script," so that makes it easier.

For Gunn, it was about finding a take on Superman that was true to the iconic character while offering a take different from the ones that came before it: "So now I feel good about it; so now, it's fun." For Gunn, the pressure has now shifted to the casting process and the expectations that come from that – using the casting process for Star-Lord in Guardians of the Galaxy as an example (and also getting a fun dig in on Rosenbaum). At the time of this interview, Gunn states that they've done "a lot of auditions, and we're narrowing it down," but they weren't finished yet. And for all of the rumors about who's auditioning and who's being cast, Gunn warns fans that there's a lot of bad intel being floated out there – but he can't shut them all down without potentially raising more questions or possibly revealing a spoiler.

In the case of who's screen-testing, Gunn sees that as an intimate, personal thing that's no one else's business to know about – which led to a conversation about how agencies will feed news folks with intel to help boost their client's pop culture worth. Gunn brings up one aspect that many folks don't consider – how an actor is impacted by rumors of screentests & auditions when that's not the truth. Rosenbaum shifts to a subject near and dear to his heart – Lex Luthor. Though Rosenbaum said he assumed Lex would be in the film, Gunn makes it clear that info never came from him. So from a purely hypothetical standpoint, Rosenbaum asks Gunn that if there is a Lex Luthor that he be "grounded and real" and true to the character's core – an approach Gunn seemed to agree with (after referring to Rosenbaum as "definitely the best Lex"). Here's a look at the complete episode – and make sure to subscribe to the Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum here:

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