As well as the inevitable appearance of some very familiar faces from the James Gunn repertory, Superman: Legacy has also been heavily rumored to feature the debuts of some brand new characters set to play a pivotal role in the DCU’s future.
A recent report offered that the reboot being written, directed, and produced by the co-CEO will boast some surprising additions, with The Hollywood Reporter revealing that “members of supergroup The Authority, which are to be introduced in the movie, will be cast after.” Needless to say, the lack of awareness of the team among mainstream audiences and even comic book connoisseurs alike led to precisely the reactions you’d expect.
While it’s definitely true that causal cinemagoers more than likely have no idea who The Authority are, what they do, or why they’re appearing in a Superman blockbuster, let’s not overlook the fact that Gunn has literally made a career out of taking lower-rung heroes and turning them into household names. In fact, it’s part of what landed him the top job at DC in the first place.
Guardians of the Galaxy was predicted by many to be the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s first flop, but it was instead a runaway smash hit that introduced a bevvy of favorites that are now recognized the world over. The Suicide Squad‘s roster didn’t boast any name value outside of Harley Quinn, but turned out to be one of the DCU’s best-reviewed entries ever.
Peacemaker took that sentiment and ran with it by throwing even more weird and wonderful people into the mix, and what were the results at the end of the day? Billions of dollars at the box office and respective Rotten Tomatoes scores of 92, 85, 90, 93, 94, and 82 for his six comic book adaptations to date. The Authority? No idea who they are, but they’re in the safest pair of hands imaginable.