Superman director James Gunn has stated that his decision to make The Engineer a henchman for Lex Luthor stemmed from a desire to introduce the audience to the world of Wildstorm and its characters.
Speaking to BlavityTV, Gunn stated that he also just thought Angela Spicer's powers were just cool and felt they would be a good matchup for Superman.
"I just really liked The Engineer's powerset and I liked taking elements of The Authority's story- she's a member of The Authority in the comics- and giving those elements to Lex Luthor, to really combine the Wildstorm and DC characters in the DCU. And I thought her powerset was good to fight Superman."
A follow-up question was then asked about whether The Authority movie was still happening and whether the Engineer would appear, to which Gunn replied, "We could for sure, it could happen," in a somewhat evasive manner. "It's not something that's going especially quickly right now but it could happen, for sure."
Based on Gunn's comments, it seems like The Engineer's backstory is based on the Wild Storm relaunch series where Angela Spicer is more of a reluctant hero. She gains her abilities in a moment of crisis, to save a colleague but her transhuman implants make her sick.
While appearing on the official DC Studios podcast, DeFaria previously stated, director James Gunn initially envisioned The Engineer as a stoic, unfeeling presence, a "really serious, poker face, nothing ever happens to her."
However, De Faría quickly recognized a deeper emotional core within the character that resonated with her own acting experience, particularly her background in telenovelas. "Oh shit, happens to her. She feels a lot. And she's really emotional and I think that's telenovela," she candidly shared, highlighting the unexpected depth she found.
De Faría further elaborated on The Engineer's complex motivations, particularly her relationship with Lex Luthor.
She crafted a personal backstory for the character, convinced that The Engineer is fundamentally driven by a genuine desire for a better world.
De Faría believes The Engineer likely experienced childhood trauma, which fueled her need to "be part of the change." This trauma, she explains, makes The Engineer "a good person at heart that's extremely broken." It's this broken idealism that compels her to join forces with Lex Luthor, as she's "willing to team up with Lex to get rid of what he believes are evil aliens."
Superman opens in U.S. theaters on July 11.