The Authority

[SwordOfMorning]

I hate to say this but...
Black Adam.
That was literally the entire marketing push behind Black Adam.

I think we all know there are a thousand unique reasons why BA was not a success that are extremely unlikely to be repeated here. I don’t think there’s any comparison.

 

[Invader Joker]

I think we all know there are a thousand unique reasons why BA was not a success that are extremely unlikely to be repeated here. I don’t think there’s any comparison.

I do think it is bound to have some sort of an impact though.

Superman: Legacy, even if it's a giant success, is not going to suddenly erase all the stench of the prior DCEU films in the minds of general audiences. So when The Authority comes out and gets promoted again as an anti-hero film featuring unknown characters with the whole marketing idea behind it being "These are superheroes that KILL!", are audiences really gonna be so quick to trust DC again with that idea when the last time they saw DC attempting it was a giant disaster?

 

[SwordOfMorning]

I do think it is bound to have some sort of an impact though.

Superman: Legacy, even if it's a giant success, is not going to suddenly erase all the stench of the prior DCEU films in the minds of general audiences. So when The Authority comes out and gets promoted again as an anti-hero film featuring unknown characters with the whole marketing idea behind it being "These are superheroes that KILL!", are audiences really gonna be so quick to trust DC again with that idea when the last time they saw DC attempting it was a giant disaster?

If it looks completely and utterly different visually, tonally and narratively than BA it is going to be totally irrelevant. And who says that is what the marketing is going to be based around? I just see literally no similarity between the two properties other than they both involve characters who use lethal force - just like the entire action genre and honestly most of the superhero genre. One suspects Authority will be much more matter of fact about it than Black Adam was.

It just has to look good. Something BA was never capable of doing. And, yeah, if Legacy is a giant success then a movie that is kind of a sequel to it that continues the storylines of popular supporting characters has a big leg-up. Audiences will be thinking about Legacy, not BA.

 

[emielaen]

Risks in filmmaking is cool guys.

 

[SwordOfMorning]

Risks in filmmaking is cool guys.

This. No risk, no reward. An ultra safe super straight down the middle DCU that isn't doing anything bold to make itself stand out doesn't have any greater a chance at success than one that takes big swings that help it stand out from the crowd of ultra generic superhero content audiences are clearly tiring of.

I don't think either strategy will work because I am cynical there will ever be a non-MCU successful shared universe, for what its worth. But one of those angles gets us more interesting movies along the way.

 

[Invader Joker]

Risks in filmmaking is cool guys.

Yeah but the risks have to be smart. Introducing a bunch of D-rate characters absolutely nobody knows and that in themselves occupy sort of a niche market as the second building block of an entire connected universe when the DC brand is at its worst is just a dumb, dumb idea. Even if the movie is great, the opening will more than likely be too low to see any sort of meaningful box office.

I'm all for an Authority movie. Hell, greenlight it as soon as Superman: Legacy comes out, I just think the idea specifically of it being the second installment in the DCU is a really bad one. If it's the third or fourth one that leaves it in a much better position to succeed after people regain trust in DC, but not before.

 

[SwordOfMorning]

Yeah but the risks have to be smart. Introducing a bunch of D-rate characters absolutely nobody knows and that in themselves occupy sort of a niche market as the second building block of an entire connected universe when the DC brand is at its worst is just a dumb, dumb idea. Even if the movie is great, the opening will more than likely be too low to see any sort of meaningful box office.

I'm all for an Authority movie. Hell, greenlight it as soon as Superman: Legacy comes out, I just think the idea specifically of it being the second installment in the DCU is a really bad one. If it's the third or fourth one that leaves it in a much better position to succeed after people regain trust in DC, but not before.

My thinking is that if Legacy doesn't regain enough trust to justify it they're going to panic and wildly course correct anyway.

 

[emielaen]

Are we really theorizing about the potential marketing schemes of a film that’s like 4-5 years away?

 

[Invader Joker]

My thinking is that if Legacy doesn't regain enough trust to justify it they're going to panic and wildly course correct anyway.

It's kinda dumb to put all the pressure on Legacy to completely revitalize DC's brand though. Even if it's good, hell, even if it made a billion dollars and won an Oscar, it's not gonna single-handedly fix all of DC's bad reputation of the last 10 years, at least not to the extent they're immediately gonna flock to see D-listers introduced by them.

 

[Snow Queen]

It's kinda dumb to put all the pressure on Legacy to completely revitalize DC's brand though. Even if it's good, hell, even if it made a billion dollars and won an Oscar, it's not gonna single-handedly fix all of DC's bad reputation of the last 10 years.

Which is exactly why WB management will do exactly that.

 

[SwordOfMorning]

It's kinda dumb to put all the pressure on Legacy to completely revitalize DC's brand though. Even if it's good, hell, even if it made a billion dollars and won an Oscar, it's not gonna single-handedly fix all of DC's bad reputation of the last 10 years, at least not to the extent they're immediately gonna flock to see D-listers introduced by them.

It is dumb to put all that pressure on Legacy. But it is 100% what they'll do. Studios universally do that with movies that exist to be massive franchise launching pads.

 

[Boom]

I do think it is bound to have some sort of an impact though.

Superman: Legacy, even if it's a giant success, is not going to suddenly erase all the stench of the prior DCEU films in the minds of general audiences. So when The Authority comes out and gets promoted again as an anti-hero film featuring unknown characters with the whole marketing idea behind it being "These are superheroes that KILL!", are audiences really gonna be so quick to trust DC again with that idea when the last time they saw DC attempting it was a giant disaster?

I don't think the marketing behind Black Adam was geared so much towards him killing as it was towards him just being a bad dude in general. The Rock playing a borderline villain was the sell.

Again, imagine a Superman that is earnestly friendly and welcoming towards law abiding citizens, but was a ruthless monster towards criminals.

 

[SwordOfMorning]

The marketing for Black Adam had such an absurd, specific tone rooted entirely in The Rock himself that it is almost impossible to repeat or even evoke.

 

[Invader Joker]

Another thing that kinda causes me doubts about this movie is that this is a film that's straight-up impossible to do with a modest budget.

Every single member of The Authority is insanely OP in ways that'll be very very expensive to put on film. Hawksmoor's powers alone are probably worth like 40 million dollars to put on-screen. And all of the threats in every single one of their comics is insanely large-scale. So it's not even like a Shazam/Deadpool budget is an option here, they'll need every penny of those 200 million dollars.

 

[SwordOfMorning]

I'm not really sure what the point of worrying about any of this is, ultimately. Just take the movies as they come. I think we all get too bogged down in the BTS drama.

 

[emielaen]

I think if Legacy comes out and is good and successful and successfully introduces some characters and then those characters show up in their own film, it can be done well. But sure, if it all goes bad, it’ll probably be bad and they’ll reevaluate or blow it up or whatever fun stuff you guys like to talk about lol

it’s all just baseless talk rn. A potentially expensive film bombing can hurt, but it could also not bomb and be good and exciting and inject some engagement and anticipation for brand new fresh and interesting characters. Or Is that not negative enough a hypothetical? Lol

 

[TheVileOne]

None of these are characters people have preconceived notions about though so it really isn’t the same as Cap being a raging prick. The reason Ultimates is so off putting is because it’s written by Mark Millar who is an infamous edgelord D-Bag and bad writer, plenty of great action movies have characters who are sort of unpleasant anti heroes at their core. They can still also be sympathetic and interesting, they’re not gonna act like the Ultimates because no one writes like Mark Millar except Millar.

It’s no different than TSS or Peacemaker. The former obviously struggled financially but it was a hit critically and I don’t think the characters being rough around the edges had anything to do with its underperformance. It is just so clearly the kind of project you’d get from a Gunn lead DC, your mileage may vary on whether that’s a good thing or not but there was always gonna be some projects in this vein.

Millar also wrote The Authority and that's part of what got him his Ultimates gig.

I'd say the difference with The Suicide Squad is that most of the characters on Task Force X are villains or convicted criminals and killers. Peacemaker was an obscure character.

I'm not convinced that having Authority in your new Superman movie and also building the DCU around them is a good idea. Just like Eternals wasn't a good fit for the MCU either.

I'm not really sure what the point of worrying about any of this is, ultimately. Just take the movies as they come. I think we all get too bogged down in the BTS drama.

It's one thing to do here. At the moment, I have bigger concerns for Superman Legacy and DCU beyond The Authority. Like how much money Warner Bros. Discovery is losing right now, and Zaslav's leadership, the ongoing WGA strike, and the potential SAG-AFTRA strike.

 

[SwordOfMorning]

Millar also wrote The Authority and that's part of what got him his Ultimates gig.

I'd say the difference with The Suicide Squad is that most of the characters on Task Force X are villains or convicted criminals and killers. Peacemaker was an obscure character.

I'm not convinced that having Authority in your new Superman movie and also building the DCU around them is a good idea. Just like Eternals wasn't a good fit for the MCU either.

For what it’s worth, Millar’s Authority is universally despised and regarded as the low point of the characters. The chances of this movie drawing on anything other than the initial 12 issue Warren Ellis run feels pretty negligible.

It's one thing to do here. At the moment, I have bigger concerns for Superman Legacy and DCU beyond The Authority. Like how much money Warner Bros. Discovery is losing right now, and Zaslav's leadership, the ongoing WGA strike, and the potential SAG-AFTRA strike.

Oh, I fully think the DCU is a write off. I’m just looking forward to hopefully getting a good movie or two out of it as a fan of Gunn who basically trusts his instincts with DC.

 

[Silvermoth]

I liked the millar era. Not perfect but some huge moments there.

and I have a feeling we won’t see the version of the authority we know in the superman series. We’ll see the Morrison one with OMAC and Steel I think and maybe see the typical team for their own movie

 

[TheScarecrow]

I do think it is bound to have some sort of an impact though.

Superman: Legacy, even if it's a giant success, is not going to suddenly erase all the stench of the prior DCEU films in the minds of general audiences. So when The Authority comes out and gets promoted again as an anti-hero film featuring unknown characters with the whole marketing idea behind it being "These are superheroes that KILL!", are audiences really gonna be so quick to trust DC again with that idea when the last time they saw DC attempting it was a giant disaster?

If Legacy is a success then the audience will have seen some of the Authority in Legacy.

I also think it won’t be entirely generic and lack any sort of teeth or personality like BA.

 

[Silvermoth]

 

[Silvermoth]