Batman‘s most guarded secret is his alter ego as billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne. At one point or another in the Dark Knight’s storied history, those who have become privy to the Batman’s secret identity include his allies (Alfred Pennyworth, the Robins, Superman), his romantic interests (Vicki Vale, Silver St. Cloud, Catwoman), and even his rogues gallery of villains (Hugo Strange, Ra’s al Ghul, the Joker). But there’s a lesser-known character who deduced the greatest secret of the world’s greatest detective: Bruce Wayne’s bodyguard, Sasha Bordeaux.

Peacemaker season 2 introduces the character to James Gunn’s new DC Universe, in which she’s played by Argentine actress Sol Rodríguez (Star Trek: Picard). Rodríguez’s Sasha Bordeaux is one of the A.R.G.U.S. agents tasked by Director Rick Flag Sr. (Frank Grillo) to hunt down Chris Smith (John Cena) over his illegal use of a dimensional portal — and for killing his son, Joel Kinnaman’s Rick Flag Jr., in 2021’s The Suicide Squad.

But could this current A.R.G.U.S. agent be Bruce Wayne’s former bodyguard? “I think she could [be],” Rodríguez tells ComicBook. “It hasn’t been talked about with James if that’s ever going to happen. I’m crossing [my] fingers. If he ever wants to make that happen, I’m here for it.”

While Peacemaker‘s Sasha Bordeaux doesn’t officially have a connection to the as-yet-uncast Bruce Wayne/Batman, Rodríguez incorporated her character’s comic book history into her backstory. “In my work for the character, I do have it in my backstory … I had it in the back of my mind,” she explains. “I didn’t bring it with me. Because I wanted to do a different version honoring the character but also doing what James was asking me to do, and honoring this Sasha in Peacemaker‘s world.”

In the comics, Sasha first appears in 2000’s Detective Comics #751 when the board of Wayne Enterprises votes to assign Bruce Wayne a bodyguard. While working the Wayne detail, Sasha becomes suspicious of her principal’s inexplicable disappearances, and in Detective Comics #756, discovers Bruce’s Bat-Paraphernalia. Six months into protecting Bruce Wayne, Sasha becomes Batman’s “bodyguard,” joining the caped crusader in the field as his masked, Kevlar-suited backup.

A romantic relationship develops between Bruce and Sasha, but after she’s framed as an accomplice to murder and imprisoned, she fakes her death when she’s recruited by the covert government agency Checkmate. Originally a sister organization of Task Force X’s Suicide Squad, Checkmate has included the likes of Amanda Waller and Maxwell Lord — two characters who exist in the DCU, played by Viola Davis and Sean Gunn, respectively. As the chess-themed organization’s Black Queen, Sasha serves alongside Waller’s White Queen and White King’s Bishop, Mr. Terrific, in the Greg Rucka-penned Checkmate.

Your move, James Gunn.

John Cena, Danielle Brooks, Jennifer Holland, Freddie Stroma, Steve Agee, and Robert Patrick return for season two, joined by new cast members Frank Grillo, David Denman, Sol Rodríguez, and Tim Meadows. Peacemaker returns August 21 on HBO Max.

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“I need to find the Peacemaker. He killed my son,” General Rick Flag Sr. (Frank Grillo) says in the trailer for Peacemaker season 2. The self-loathing jingoistic mercenary (John Cena) expressed remorse over killing American hero Rick Flag Jr. (Joel Kinnaman) during a still-canon mission to Corto Maltese in 2021’s The Suicide Squad, admitting in a sob session that Flag was right to call him a “joke.” But as Chris Smith says in the trailer, “I don’t want to be a joke anymore. I want to be a real hero.”

While Flag Sr. pursues Peacemaker over his use of the Quantum Unfolding Chamber — or the QUC, similar to the dangerous interdimensional technology that Nicholas Hoult’s Lex Luthor operated in Superman — he’s also motivated by revenge. As a father himself, Grillo tells ComicBook how parenthood informed his performance.

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“It’s impossible not to let it kind of saturate your being,” the actor, who first played the elder Flag in the animated Creature Commandos, says. “The way for me anyway when I prepare, it’s like, ‘What would I do in this situation? How would I be in this situation?’ So it’s hard not to think of [what I would do].”

“If it were me, I would be hellbent on getting this guy in the ground,” Grillo continues. “And that would probably blur a lot of other things around me, which is what I think Flag is dealing with.”

As the new director of A.R.G.U.S., and with agents like Sasha Bordeaux (Sol Rodríguez) and Langston Fleury (Tim Meadows) at his command, Flag is dealing with “having this new position and dealing with this power that he has, while still having this one major objective,” Grillo says. “Which is to annihilate Peacemaker and to use everyone around me, with my authority, to get that done.”

Series creator and The Suicide Squad writer-director James Gunn previously defended Peacemaker killing Flag, who threatened to expose the truth about Amanda Waller’s (Viola Davis) Project Starfish and the US government’s involvement with the starfish-like alien Starro the Conqueror.

“People constantly are writing on Twitter about how awful [Peacemaker] is and how mad they are that he killed Rick Flag — and I may get s–t for saying this — but what he was doing, he had a reason for doing it,” Gunn said back in 2022. “He kills Rick Flag in The Suicide Squad because there’s a piece of evidence that he believes will cause the world a great amount of disturbance and death and violence. He’s covering up the truth, so if you believe in the truth being out there no matter what, you definitely don’t agree with that.”

Peacemaker comes from “not a natural rights perspective, he comes from a utilitarian perspective,” Gunn added. “He believes that the world is better off without that bit of information [about Starro]. And if that means killing a guy he really likes and looks up to, he’s willing to do that.”

John Cena, Danielle Brooks, Jennifer Holland, Freddie Stroma, Steve Agee, and Robert Patrick return for season two, joined by new cast members Frank Grillo, David Denman, Sol Rodriguez, and Tim Meadows.

In Peacemaker season 2, Chris “discovers an alternate world where life is everything he wishes it could be,” a discovery that also “forces him to face his traumatic past and take the future into his own hands,” per the synopsis. James Gunn wrote all eight episodes of Peacemaker and directed three, including the first episode premiering August 21 on HBO Max.

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If you were a DCU conspiracy theorist, you might have something to say about the subtext of a new story in the expanding shared universe that presents its envious hero with a shiny new alternate reality where everything is a dream come true. And while that’s not for me to say, one of the most notable things about Peacemaker Season 2 is that it has so much depth given what it appears to be on the surface. Because, like Season 1, John Cena’s Peacemaker is very, very different to Superman. Now that I’ve sat on the first five episodes, I’m also convinced it’s better.

This is not a cheap shot at Superman, by any means, because I liked the first DCU movie a lot. It was almost everything I wanted, but the accusations of it being a little… busy, let’s say, did ring true. And watching Peacemaker Season 2, you get to see what might have been if Gunn had the same amount of time to flesh out his Superman story. And make no mistake, this is very much a James Gunn joint, even though he’s only marked director on three of the eight episodes. It’s just not exactly the same one who made Superman.

Peacemaker Is Definitely the Grown-Up Side of the DCU

Peacemaker Season 1 generated a lot of conversation thanks to the creative team — and Gunn at its head, of course — embracing far more outrageous subject matter than the Snyderverse had dared to; than any DC property had dared to, actually. Or Marvel for that matter. Pot shots were taken at DC superhero royalty (including scatalogical accusations), there was near-nudity, drugs, swearing, and the unthinkable claim that Wookiees have teeth in their buttholes, and yet it still managed to have heart and depth. Peacemaker Season 2 pushes all of the naughty stuff, right from the start of Episode 1, and uses the multiverse to tell a disarmingly deep story.

That shouldn’t be too much of a surprise, though, because while Gunn handled the god-like majesty of Superman, he’s proved repeatedly that he has a way with broken, seemingly irredeemable characters. If you thought making you care about Rocket Raccoon was impressive, it’s nothing compared to how compelling Gunn makes Cena’s redemption tour as Peacemaker. Episode 1 features a sequence that belongs on The Boys as a backdrop to Chris’s existential crisis, and the juxtaposition of full-frontal nudity and heartfelt message storytelling works perversely well. It also features another exquisite C-bomb (and as a Brit, I can confirm Harcourt is right about the meaning).

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Some of the more NSFW elements will no doubt lead to accusations that Gunn is being provocative for the sake of it, but it’s mostly well-balanced, thanks to the substance. The story is more compelling than some of the jokes suggest. Alongside Cena, Jennifer Holland happily gets more story as Emilia Harcourt, Freddie Stroma is reassuringly great as dangerous dipsh-t sidekick Vigilante, and Steve Agee is again good as John Economos. The only slight casualty of the story this time is Danielle Brooks as Leota Adebayo, whose story is just a little less interesting than I wanted it to be.

Cena’s performance, meanwhile, is once again genuinely charming and just goofball enough without him becoming a victim of the jokes. When you look back at his WWE career — and indeed, the wider circus-like context of “sports entertainment” as a whole — you get all of the background to this layered performance. As Peacemaker, he manages to be both clown and charismatic hero; provocative and empathetic, and I genuinely can’t wait to see him return. It all makes a lot more sense when you go back and watch him rapping before crowds of thousands of adoring fans who made him the hottest ticket in WWE for a long time.

Peacemaker’s Return Makes It 3 out of 3 for James Gunn’s First DCU Releases

But of course, this isn’t just a continuation of a popular show: Peacemaker Season 2 was also tasked with integrating Gunn’s precious pre-DCU treasures into the new timeline (according to whichever rules he wanted to bend). That means quite a few Superman characters return, notably including a more prominent role for Frank Grillo as the vengeful Rick Flag Sr. He’s good, but you will struggle to see how he’s the same character as the one previously seen in Creature Commandos.

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The other new cast members include David Denman in a role I’m not allowed to reveal, Tim Meadows (who has lots of fun as an oddball ARGUS agent), and Michael Rooker as Eagly’s nemesis, Red St. Wild. They all integrate seamlessly, which is important, because Gunn has been very insistent that this whole canon-defying gambit was going to work. And when the explanation for how Peacemaker is still DCU canon despite everything, it’s incidental, while also feeling like Gunn is winking at you over the back of the TV. If it means I get more Peacemaker, I honestly couldn’t have cared if it was 70% less well-handled, but I didn’t have to worry about that.

Peacemaker Season 2 has the same flood of heart as Superman, is another excellent exercise in world-building, and by virtue of feeling more like a pure expression of Gunn as a creator, I’d confidently say it’s the better of the two. It almost goes without saying that the music is also typically brilliant. So, all in all, that makes it the third success in a row for the DCU for me, so I think we can all agree that the franchise is in the right hands.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Peacemaker Season 2 debuts on HBO Max on August 21st.

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After the box office success of this summer’s Superman, the next chapter in the DC Universe is arriving shortly with Peacemaker Season 2, which premieres on HBO Max on August 21st. Fortunately, it looks like James Gunn and Co. have another winner on their hands. The first reviews for Peacemaker Season 2 have been published, and critics are loving what they’ve seen. As of this writing, Peacemaker‘s second season boasts an impressive 100% Certified Fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes with 30 reviews submitted. This makes it the third consecutive Certified Fresh project in the DCU since the new continuity kicked off late last year with Creature Commandos.

The animated series sports a Rotten Tomatoes score of 95%. Superman actually has the DCU’s lowest critics score to date with 83%. When compared to entries in the old DC Extended Universe, Peacemaker Season 1 had a score of 93% and The Suicide Squad came in at 90%. A critics consensus for Peacemaker Season 2 hasn’t been published yet, but skimming over the reviews shows it’s being praised for the performances of the cast, the over-the-top, R-rated humor and violence, and a surprisingly strong emotional core.

Gunn has described Peacemaker Season 2 as the “direct follow-up” to Superman. Though the two projects are very different in terms of style and tone, there are plenty of connections between them. Multiple characters from Superman return in Peacemaker. In fact, these connections were why Superman was released on home media so quickly after its theatrical premiere. Gunn wanted to give people an opportunity to watch the movie before Peacemaker returns.

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HBO Max has been busy putting together a notable promotional campaign for Peacemaker Season 2. The show received a Hall H panel at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con, where a trailer was revealed. That preview set up the basic premise of the upcoming season, showing Christopher Smith discovering the existence of a different reality where his life is seemingly perfect. The multiverse angle brings a show that started life in the DCEU into the DCU. Ahead of the Season 2 premiere, Gunn has been co-hosting a Season 1 rewatch on the official Peacemaker podcast, sharing what is and isn’t canon in the DCU.

Peacemaker Season 1 was one of the few DCEU projects to earn widespread praise, and it’s great to see Season 2 follow suit. The DCU now has another notch on its belt as things really rev up, winning over critics and audiences with stories that are entertaining and heartfelt. After experiencing its fair share of ups and downs in the 2010s, it was vital for DC Studios to get the DCU off to a strong start, and they’ve achieved that. The reception to Peacemaker Season 2 will only continue to build forward momentum for the franchise, generating excitement for what’s to come.

One of the more notable takeaways from the Peacemaker Season 2 reviews is that multiple critics have called out the show’s genuinely affecting story. Throughout his career, Gunn has mastered the art of balancing comedy with heart. The Guardians of the Galaxy movies make people laugh hysterically in one moment and uncontrollably sob the next. With that in mind, it isn’t a shock that Peacemaker Season 2 makes viewers care about the characters with an emotionally charged narrative about finding a sense of belonging. But it’s great to see there’s much more to the show than just R-rated shenanigans. It sounds like Peacemaker Season 2 might be even better than its predecessor.

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Peacemaker has officially crossed over into the DC Universe. While the first season of The Suicide Squad spin-off series took place in the old DC Extended Universe, season 2 is set in the new DCU, which so far includes Creature Commandos and Superman. Linking the three projects is Frank Grillo’s General Rick Flag Sr., who defended the “naive, but well-intentioned” Superman (David Corenswet) after the Man of Steel intervened to stop a war between Boravia and Jarhanpur in the James Gunn-directed movie.

Before it was revealed that LuthorCorp CEO Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) manufactured the war as an excuse to kill his alien archnemesis with the support of the US government, Flag arrested Superman and outsourced his confinement to PlanetWatch, Luthor’s Department of Defense-backed answer to “otherworldly threats.”

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Superman was imprisoned in a pocket universe that Luthor created by replicating the Big Bang, but Luthor’s specialty “reckless science” — as the genius Mr. Terrific (Edi Gathegi) put it — resulted in a rift between universal fabrics that nearly destroyed the planet. And like Luthor, who was able to access his pocket universe from multiple dimensional portals he set up across the globe, Peacemaker (John Cena) has access to a Quantum Unfolding Chamber (or the QUC for short).

“We need to find Peacemaker,” General Flag is seen telling DoD officials in the red-band trailer for Peacemaker season 2. “And like Lex Luthor, he’s in possession of some kind of dimensional portal.” Presumably, some insider information comes from Luthor henchmen Otis Berg (Terence Rosemore) and Sydney Happersen (Stephen Blackehart), who can be spotted as Flag addresses Secretary of Defense General Mori (James Hiroyuki Liao) — yet another character from Superman — in the same room where Luthor pitched PlanetWatch.

Otis and Sydney were among the technicians who input battle commands for Luthor’s Superman clone, Ultraman, from the command center in LuthorCorp, and the pair later unleashed the baby kaiju that grew into a giant kaiju overnight and attacked Metropolis. But Sydney, at least, offered to help Mr. Terrific shut down and close the rift threatening to destroy reality… only to be shoved aside by “goddamn Mr. Terrific!” Are we to believe that two of Luthor’s key subordinates were freed after their part in almost destroying Earth? Was Luthor alone blamed?

“I developed it along the way, in conjunction with the other DC projects that we’re doing, so it’s very much connected to Superman and it’s very much connected to what comes after,” Gunn previously told EW of Peacemaker season 2. “I had a rough idea of what I was going to do, but it was actually quite different than what the show ended up being.”

Besides Rick Flag Sr. and appearances by the Justice Gang’s Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced), the Guy Gardner Green Lantern (Nathan Fillion), and their billionaire backer, tech mogul Maxwell Lord (Sean Gunn), the new season revolves around the QUC technology seen in both Peacemaker and Superman. “You’ve seen what we call the QUC, the Quantum Unfolding Chamber, in the first season of Peacemaker, and we see more about that technology in Superman,” Gunn noted.”The QUC is the center of the story in Peacemaker season 2.”

Gunn continued, “We see a lot of different characters from Superman in the [season] — Isabela and Nathan and Sean — and then we see a bunch of other characters later on in the season from other parts of the DCU and from Superman. There might even be one really, really, really big cameo near the end of the show.”

Superman is available to own digitally on August 15. Peacemaker season 2 — starring returning cast members John Cena, Danielle Brooks, Jennifer Holland, Freddie Stroma, Steve Agee, and Robert Patrick, with series newcomers Frank Grillo, David Denman, Sol Rodriguez, and Tim Meadows — premieres August 21 on HBO Max.

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Warning: Spoilers for James Gunn’s Superman follow. The new red band trailer for DC Studios’ Peacemaker season 2 showcases the next adventure of John Cena’s Christopher Smith, with the trailer also establishing a major connection between the show and James Gunn’s introductory DCU movie Superman.

The trailer includes a scene of Rick Flag Sr. (Frank Grillo) emphatically stating that “We need to find Peacemaker. And like Lex Luthor, he’s in possession of some kind of dimension portal”. With this one line, Peacemaker season 2 establishes a direct link to the pocket universe created by Lex Luthor (Nichols Hoult) seen in Superman. Logged in YouTube users can view the new Peacemaker trailer here (it’s understandably age restricted for violence, language, and nudity, which gives you some indication of the tone of the show).

The pocket universe is introduced an interdimensional prison in which Lex Luthor houses his most sworn enemies. After Luthor manages to sway public opinion against Superman (David Corenswet) by unveiling a message from Kal-El’s Kryptonian parents revealing he was sent to conquer Earth, Luthor gets the approval from the U.S. government to imprison and interrogate the Man of Steel in the pocket universe. Superman manages to escape the pocket universe, but Luthor’s efforts to re-capture Superman create a rift in the pocket universe’s portal, causing it split open uncontrollably through the streets of Metropolis.

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Fortunately, Superman manages to stop Luthor’s plot with Mr. Terrific (Edi Gathegi) shutting the doorway to the pocket universe. However, given the significant destruction that the pocket universe’s rift caused, it makes sense that Rick Flag Sr. and the U.S. government would be extremely wary of Peacemaker having his own key to open doorways in the multiverse. This not only sets up Peacemaker season 2 as a rather direct continuation of Superman‘s plot line, but also builds upon the role of the multiverse in the story.

Peacemaker season 1 served as a spin-off of Gunn’s 2021 film The Suicide Squad, with both the movie and the show taking place in the DCEU. With Peacemaker season 2 occupying the new DCU, the show’s second season is set to be quite multiverse-centered story, with an alternate Peacemaker already seen in the show’s first trailer, and the trailer referencing the existence of alternate realities. Peacemaker season 2 will also reportedly address the Justice League’s cameo in season 1, with the show explaining how and why that element is canon only to the DCEU and the not DCU.

Peacemaker season 2’s multiverse-traveling fun doesn’t stop there either, with the show reportedly set to establish that a minimum of 100 parallel DC universes co-exist, including one such universe populated by giant spiders with human skulls for heads (as seen in the first trailer). Additionally, Gunn has also teased a plethora of cameos for Peacemaker season 2, and the direct link the show’s red band trailer establishes to Superman makes it a good bet that the Last Son of Krypton could be flying in to prevent another pocket universe from cause another rift in reality.

While Superman‘s use of Lex Luthor’s pocket universe kept that plot element relatively centralized within the movie’s story, it is clear that Peacemaker season 2 will throw open doors to other realities much more gleefully than Superman did. What that means for the DCU’s upcoming future is open to endless speculation. Nonetheless, Peacemaker season 2 sharing a plot element with Superman in the role of pocket universes could indicate that it could be a fairly significant element of the DCU as it moves ahead.

The first episode of Peacemaker season 2 will be released on HBO Max on August 21st.

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Although Peacemaker Season 2 doesn’t premiere until next week, writer/director James Gunn is already giving us details to watch for in the new season. As if following Peacemaker’s journey in and out of an alternate DC Universe wasn’t enough to entertain audiences in the upcoming season, which hits HBO Max August 21st, Gunn also confirmed that there will be another dance number on the show. Gunn, known for his soundtracks, not only revealed to the press which song would be used in the new season’s dance number, but also which actor struggled the most to master the dance moves this time around.

The Peacemaker Season 1 opening dance routine, set to “Do Ya Wanna Taste It?” by Norwegian glam metal band Wig Wam, surprised and delighted fans. In Season 2, series star John Cena and his cast mates will be busting a move to the Foxy Shazam song “Oh Lord.” For Gunn, the rock tune was a fairly straightforward choice.

“I don’t know if there were any other tracks that were close,” Gunn revealed during a press round table for the upcoming season. “There were a couple of other tracks that I considered, there was another Foxy Shazam song I considered, but at the end of the day, I thought this, ‘Oh Lord,’ fit the season the best in the same way that, you know, ‘Do You Want to Taste It?’ fit the first season. So I think that that was that.”

Gunn also collaborated with the American rock band on his recent blockbuster Superman. Foxy Shazam’s lead vocalist, Eric Nally, and Lou Lou Safran recorded a song belonging to Clark Kent’s favorite band, The Mighty Crabjoys. The fictional band is glimpsed in Clark’s bedroom at his parent’s house in Smallville and their theme can be heard during the credits of the film.

The other rock songs in Superman, including “Punkrocker” by Teddybears featuring Iggy Pop and “Five Years Time” by Noah and the Whale, have enjoyed massive streaming boosts thanks to Gunn including them in the blockbuster. It remains to be seen if the eight-year-old “Oh Lord” will receive a similar surge in popularity once Peacemaker returns.

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Gunn Names Frequent Collaborator as Worst Dancer in Peacemaker Season 2

As for the dance component of Peacemaker Season 2’s musical number, Gunn didn’t shy away from naming the actors who couldn’t land the choreography to “Oh Lord”. And yes, according to the filmmaker, there were several performers who struggled to keep up.

“I think the biggest challenge for me really was that we have many more bad dancers this season. And so, you know, shout out to Frank Grillo and Tim Meadows and Michael Rooker, who were what Robert Patrick was, sort of singular bad dancer last season now, is many…” Gunn said. “If you rewatch it enough, you’ll see it. Focus on Rooker and you’ll see his dancing abilities.”

Rooker, who’s with Gunn for nearly 20 years and is perhaps best known for playing the Ravager with a heart of gold, Yondu Udonta, in the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy. Though he made a brief voiceover cameo as Superhero Robot #1 in Superman, he formally joins the DCU in live-action as Red St. Wild, an eagle hunter, in Peacemaker Season 2. Since Rooker never fails to bring heart and depth to Gunn’s projects, we’ll give him a pass on his subpar dancing on the show.

Peacemaker Season 2 premiere on August 21st on HBO MAX. What do you think of the song fo Peacemaker Season 2’s opening dance number? Let us know in the comments.

The post James Gunn Breaks Down Peacemaker’s Season 2 Dance Scene, And Who Is the Worst Dancer appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Superman is coming to home media faster than a speeding bullet, but there’s a good reason why. In an interview with Screen Rant to promote the upcoming Peacemaker Season 2, Superman director and DC Studios co-head James Gunn explained the surprising decision to release Superman on PVOD later this month. Though the filmmaker is always in favor of a long theatrical window, he also wanted to ensure everyone had an opportunity to watch Superman before Peacemaker Season 2 debuts on HBO Max. Initially, Gunn thought Peacemaker would return in September, but changes to the schedule forced DC Studios to send Superman to homes earlier than anticipated.

“Well, it’s very complicated, but the truth is it is because of Peacemaker,” Gunn said. “I originally thought Peacemaker was going to be coming out next month. There was a lot of things that are beyond our control, so that Peacemaker is coming out now, and, at the end of the day, I wanted everyone to be able to see Superman that wanted to, even those people who couldn’t get to a theater before Peacemaker. And that’s really the reason for it.”

Gunn has previously described Peacemaker Season 2, which premieres on August 21st, as the “direct follow-up” to Superman. Peacemaker is set to feature appearances from characters who were in Superman, such as the Justice Gang. During a panel at San Diego Comic-Con in July, Gunn teased that other Superman characters could have a role on Peacemaker.

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It was recently announced that Superman will be available on PVOD platforms such as Apple, Amazon, and Fandango on August 15th — a little over a month after the film debuted in theaters. Physical copies are set to release on September 23rd. Superman is one of the biggest box office hits of the year so far, having earned $583.1 million worldwide as of this writing, so many were surprised to see it hit home media so soon.

After exceeding box office expectations with a $125 million domestic debut, Superman has had strong legs throughout its box office run. It dropped only 53.2% in its second weekend, a great hold for a franchise blockbuster. Since the film is still making money in theaters, an argument can be made that DC Studios should have held off releasing Superman on digital. However, Gunn’s reasoning for the decision makes sense. As the next chapter of the DC Universe, Peacemaker Season 2 is connected to Superman; the movie shouldn’t be homework to enjoy and/or understand the show, but it’s nice that people have the option to watch both at home so they can get the full scope if they want.

With Superman about to hit PVOD, its box office numbers will probably take a hit in the coming weekends. But that shouldn’t negatively impact the film; it’s already considered a commercial success, getting the DCU off on the right foot. Though Superman didn’t fare as well internationally, it’s still the highest-grossing comic book adaptation of the year and the highest-grossing Superman film of all time in the United States. Gunn is already working on the next chapter of his Superman saga, so everyone is happy with how the movie performed. Whatever sales it makes from digital rentals and purchases will only complement the box office numbers.

The post Superman’s Short Theatrical Window is Peacemaker’s Fault (& It Makes Sense) appeared first on ComicBook.com.

James Gunn and Peter Safran’s new DC Universe is a fresh start for the iconic characters, creating an interconnected story across movies and TV shows that officially began with the animated series Creature Commandos and the theatrical blockbuster Superman. While the DCU is being sold as a brand-new project, some fan-favorite elements from the previous continuity are being carried over. This creates a unique situation for projects like Peacemaker, which is being refurbished to fit the new timeline and opening the door for beloved actors to reprise their roles, such as the cast from Gunn’s The Suicide Squad. During a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, Gunn addressed the DCU future of Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) and Bloodsport (Idris Elba), teasing that audiences can expect to see at least one of them back in action soon.

“That will be revealed down the line,” Gunn said about the potential return of Robbie’s Harley Quinn. While the comment is intentionally vague, it implies that DC Studios has already made a decision regarding the character’s future. Gunn’s remark suggests a plan is in place, and the studio is waiting for the right narrative moment to make an official announcement. That reveal will likely come when Harley Quinn is set to appear in an upcoming DCU project, at which point Gunn will either confirm Robbie’s return or unveil a new actor for the role.

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“I definitely am always looking for a place to put Bloodsport and figuring that out,” Gunn stated about Elba’s character. “So we’ll see what happens.” This statement offers a much more direct window into Gunn’s thinking, showing a clear desire to reintegrate the deadly mercenary into the new DCU. This enthusiasm aligns with his established willingness to bring back survivors from The Suicide Squad, as King Shark has already had a cameo at the end of Creature Commandos Season 1.

Can Peacemaker Season 2 Feature Any The Suicide Squad Cameo?

The upcoming second season of Peacemaker is uniquely positioned to bridge the gap between past and present, officially cementing key moments from The Suicide Squad as canon within the new DCU. Events like the Corto Maltese mission and the death of Rick Flag Jr. (Joel Kinnaman) at the hands of Christopher Smith (John Cena) are foundational to the first season of the series. The new season will dig deeper into the consequences of Peacemaker killing his former commander, with Rick Flag Sr. (Frank Grillo) actively hunting him for revenge. As a result, this direct narrative continuation from the 2021 film makes Peacemaker the most logical place for other former teammates to reappear.

To help audiences navigate the transition, Gunn has launched Peacemaker: The Official Podcast, a companion series where he breaks down each episode of the first season and clarifies what remains part of the new DCU continuity. Gunn has also teased that Peacemaker Season 2 will feature unexpected cameos, fueling hope that Christopher Smith’s former Task Force X allies could make an appearance. Given that the series will serve as a direct follow-up to the events of Superman and will feature members of the Justice Gang, the scope of the show is already expanding significantly. The groundwork is clearly being laid for characters with unresolved history, like Bloodsport or even Ratcatcher 2, to play a part in Peacemaker’s ongoing story.

Peacemaker Season 2 is scheduled to premiere on HBO Max on August 21, 2025.

Which member of The Suicide Squad do you most want to see return in the DCU? Let us know in the comments!

The post James Gunn Addresses Harley Quinn and Bloodsport’s DCU Future appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Before spearheading the DC Universe, James Gunn was lauded for making the Guardians of the Galaxy a surprise hit on the big screen, and bringing a surprising amount of pathos to a more obscure group of characters. Since then, Gunn has stated several times that Rocket (Bradley Cooper) is the emotional heart of his Guardians trilogy, and Gunn’s favorite. Now, Gunn is responsible for many more characters in the DCU, and not just as a writer and director, but as a producer and executive as well. At a recent press event for Peacemaker Season 2, ComicBook asked Gunn if there was a single DC character he related to in the same as Rocket. He had a couple of answers, but seemed to lean towards Chris Smith, a.k.a. Peacemaker (John Cena) himself.

“Well, I certainly connect to Peacemaker, and I certainly connect to Harcourt in certain ways,” Gunn said. “I’m not as good as Superman, but nothing quite feels as autobiographical as Rocket did, but in a way, the Peacemaker story is in some ways more personal, and I really do relate to Chris, you know, I relate to the good and the bad sides of him.”

It’s no surprise that Peacemaker would feel personal to Gunn in a similar way to Rocket after all he and the character have been through together. Gunn was briefly fired by Marvel thanks to a campaign by outspoken, bad-faith critics, and during that time he wrote and directed The Suicide Squad for the DCEU. He was then hired to create Peacemaker as a spinoff series, and at the same time, he was rehired at Marvel to finish his Guardians trilogy. It was in the midst of all this that Gunn was also hired as the new co-CEO of DC Studios, and given the freedom to chart a course for the DCU going forward.

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That led Peacemaker to be the only DCEU title that has been carried over into the DCU — so far, at least. To his credit, Gunn didn’t let this daunting new job distract him from finishing his Guardians trilogy strong, with a particular focus on Rocket. Just this summer, in an interview with GQ, he explained how Rocket led him to the emotional heart of the whole team.

“It just came to me that, if it was real, that that raccoon would be the saddest creature in the entire universe, and that he would feel utterly and completely alone, and have a very difficult time in life,” Gunn said. “That to me was the beginning of Guardians… That was the journey of those three movies for me. It was about Rocket, whose character, who I’ve felt closer to more than any other character I’ve ever put on film, without a doubt.”

Judging by the generally positive reviews for Peacemaker, Creature Commandos, and Superman, Gunn has brought that same thoughtful emotion to the DCU so far. Hopefully that continues when Peacemaker Season 2 premieres on HBO Max on Thursday, August 21st.

The post James Gunn Reveals the DC Character He Connects With Most (It’s Not Superman) appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Despite only being one movie in, there are quite a few fires for the DC Universe to put out. For starters, James Gunn makes a major change to Kryptonian lore in Superman, having Jor-El and Lara Lor-Van send their son to Earth to conquer it rather than protect it. Supergirl is going to have to tackle that issue if it wants its titular character to have a future in the franchise because, at the moment, it’s unclear why the Man of Steel’s cousin fails to tell him about his true mission. However, Supergirl isn’t the only character who appears in Superman with a dark cloud hanging over them.

Christopher Smith, aka Peacemaker, makes a brief appearance in Superman, taking time out of his busy day to attack the hero while he’s down on TV after his parents’ message becomes public knowledge. The brief cameo is a great way to cut the tension, but it creates more questions than it answers, as Gunn’s DCU appears to be picking and choosing which parts of the old canon it wants to use. While Peacemaker Season 2 is sure to provide some insight into how the titular anti-hero becomes a notable figure in Superman’s reality, Gunn is aware that John Cena’s character’s story may be too big for the small screen.

During a roundtable attended by ComicBook, Gunn was asked whether Peacemaker will ever star in his own feature-length film again or if he’s stuck on HBO Max for good, and he provided a pretty interesting answer.

“I actually know the answer to that question,” he revealed. “And I am not at liberty to say under penalty of the Safran punishment, which is a loss of my knuckle. Every time I give away something, Peter Safran will take away another joint of my finger. It’s very painful. He uses a cigar cutter.”

The playful response is Gunn’s way of saying it’s too early to reveal the truth. However, it would’ve been easy for the filmmaker to drop the hammer and explain that Peacemaker is a TV character and nothing more. Gunn’s answer opens the door for the 11th Street Kids to appear in a movie in the future, potentially one that brings back other shady characters.

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Is Another Suicide Squad Movie in the Cards at DC Studios?

Of course, Gunn’s first foray into the DCU was The Suicide Squad, which was universally praised but struggled at the box office. The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on its theatrical run, prompting the powers that be to move the next part of the story to TV. Well, Superman just proved that DC can make as much, if not more, money than its competition, which means the sky is the limit. Gunn has also been vocal about embracing good ideas, and since he had one story that fit Task Force X, who’s to say he doesn’t have another?

After Peacemaker Season 2 gets the gang up to speed with their new reality, the next move could be to link them up with Harley Quinn, Bloodsport, and a few other familiar faces. Gunn isn’t ready to reveal what the plans are just yet, but it’s clear that Cena should dust off his Peacemaker suit because it’s probably going to another red carpet appearance.

Peacemaker Season 2 drops on August 21, 2025.

Would you like to see Peacemaker headline another DC movie? Do you think another Suicide Squad film could work? Let us know in the comments below!

The post James Gunn Just Dropped a Major Tease for Peacemaker’s DCU Future After Season 2 appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, the Flash, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter and Aquaman form most iterations of the Justice League. But the big question is: do DC’s “Big Seven” exist in the new DC Universe? James Gunn, the co-head of DC Studios with Peter Safran, has already confirmed that the Justice League is still a ways away. So far, the only prospective members known to exist are David Corenswet’s Superman, a yet-to-be-cast Batman who cameoed in Creature Commandos, and Green Lanterns like Aaron Pierre’s John Stewart, Kyle Chandler’s Hal Jordan, and Nathan Fillion’s Guy Gardner; but others, like undersea king Aquaman, have yet to surface by the time Peacemaker season 2 takes place.

The topic came up in Monday’s episode of Peacemaker: The Official Podcast with James Gunn, in which The Suicide Squad and Superman filmmaker discusses what is and isn’t canon in the DC Universe. In the Peacemaker season 1 episode “Murn After Reading,” Chris Smith (John Cena) tells a classroom of children that the Flash is “an unbearable d-bag,” and that, while he’s never met Wonder Woman, “she did spend an entire party eye-effing me from across the room.”

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“I don’t know. We’ll have to wait and see,” Gunn said when asked if the Flash and Wonder Woman name-drops mean the characters are DCU canon. “I mean, they’ll exist eventually. Whether they exist now, I don’t know.”

Gunn’s comments seem to confirm that Ezra Miller’s Barry Allen and Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman, who both last appeared in 2023’s The Flash, didn’t carry over to the reset canon that consists of Creature Commandos, Superman, and Peacemaker. The latter featured a cameo by Miller’s Flash and Jason Momoa’s Aquaman, but the appearance of the Justice League has since been deemed non-canon.

The Flash and Wonder Woman were among the corpses in the cameo-filled episode 4 of Creature Commandos, where the enchantress Circe showed Amanda Waller a vision of a possible apocalyptic future, which saw the world’s heroes die under the rule of the Flash rogue Gorilla Grodd.

DC Studios is developing a new Wonder Woman movie that Gunn has called “a priority” in addition to Paradise Lost, an HBO Max series set in Princess Diana of Themyscira’s homeland. As for the Scarlet Speedster, Gunn has intimated that the Flash might not speed into the DCU anytime soon.

Peacemaker season 2 — which stars returning cast members John Cena, Danielle Brooks, Jennifer Holland, Freddie Stroma, Steve Agee, and Robert Patrick, with series newcomers Frank Grillo, David Denman, Sol Rodriguez, and Tim Meadows — premieres August 21 on HBO Max.

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The post James Gunn on if Peacemaker’s Flash and Wonder Woman References Are DCU Canon appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Back in 2023, it was reported that James Gunn was committed to only allowing actors to play one on-screen role in the new DCU. The technicality there, of course, is that voice roles don’t count (as Superman‘s Michael Rooker, Sean Gunn, and Alan Tudyk already proved), but now Gunn has revealed how he’d get around actors who played confirmed DCU canon characters reappearing in other on-screen roles, if he wanted to.

That rule-breaking loophole came thanks to a conversation on Peacemaker: The Official Podcast, on which Gunn appeared alongside Chukwudi Iwuji (who played Clemson Murn in Peacemaker Season 1). As well as confirming his DCU canon status, Gunn also revealed how he could get around his own casting rule, allowing Iwuji to potentially reappear in another role:

“I think Clemson Murn is canon… Maybe his face might not be canon if we want to cast Chuk as something else in the DCU. But also, Chuk could end up being some other character, maybe [one] that isn’t so humanoid.”

Gunn actually took a similar approach with regular collaborator Michael Rooker, who played the killed-off Savant in 2021’s The Suicide Squad and voiced a Superman Robot in Superman before being cast as Red St. Wild — a hunter gunning for Peacemaker’s pet eagle, Eagly — in Peacemaker season 2. Presumably, Gunn is confirming here that Savant in The Suicide Squad didn’t actually look like Michael Rooker in canon.

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In Peacemaker‘s first season, mercenary Clemson Murn hired contract killer Christopher Smith (John Cena) to his black ops squad as part of Project Butterfly. Tasked with assassinating high-profile human targets hosting the bug-like aliens called “butterflies,” Team Peacemaker — Emilia Harcourt (Jennifer Holland), Leota Adebayo (Danielle Brooks), and John Economos (Steve Agee) — learned that one such host was Murn, who was inhabited by the benevolent butterfly Ik Nobe Llok. But while attempting to stop queen butterfly Eek Stack Ik Ik’s attempted invasion of Earth, Ik Nobe Llok was crushed to death by Detective Sophie Song (Annie Chang) after she was leeched by Eek Stack Ik Ik.

Series regulars Cena, Brooks, Holland, Agee, and Freddie Stroma (Vigilante) and Robert Patrick (Auggie Smith) return for the new season, which has added new cast members Tim Meadows as A.R.G.U.S. Agent Langston Fleury, Sol Rodríguez as Checkmate’s Sasha Bordeaux, and Frank Grillo as Rick Flag Sr., reprising his role from Creature Commandos and Superman. Season 2 of Peacemaker premieres August 21 on HBO Max.

The post James Gunn Reveals The Loophole That Could Break His First DCU Rule appeared first on ComicBook.com.

James Gunn just clarified the fate of one obscure criminal in the DC Universe on Peacemaker: The Official Podcast. In this week’s episode, Gunn answered questions submitted by fans on social media, including one about the villain Kite Man. Peacemaker Season 1 didn’t even mention the character out loud, but we did see a newspaper clipping about Peacemaker (John Cena) defeating Kite Man, leaving viewers to wonder if he was dead, or if he still has a future in the DCU. Gunn assured listeners that, in this case, Peacemaker did not use letha force, and that seems to be supported in the episode as well. Still, he didn’t say if or when the character might take flight again.

“It may say Peacemaker’s taken down Kite Man, I don’t think that means permanently,” Gunn said. “I don’t think it means he killed him, took him down. I think he just got him, and he’s in prison now. So, he’s still fine. We could see Kite Man, sure.”

Right now, the Peacemaker podcast is made up mostly of commentary on Peacemaker Season 1, with Gunn chiming in specifically to point out things that are no longer canon in the DCU, and highlight important things that are. This call-out for Kite Man prompted a decisive stamp from a co-host declaring this even “canon.” In some ways, it’s amusing that this obscure character has a canonical place in the DCU before so many other, more beloved figures, including Batman himself, but many fans appreciate Gunn for these deep cuts.

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Kite Man as first introduced in a Batman comic back in 1960, and for the most part, he’s a pretty low-level, obscure criminal, sometimes used as bait by more nefarious supervillains. However, Kite Man has seen an spike in notoriety lately thanks to the animated series Harley Quinn, where he got some funny lines and a distinct place in the story. Unfortunately, Harley Quinn is not a canonical part of the DCU, so his characterization there doesn’t apply.

So far, the DCU consists only of Creature Commandos and Superman. Peacemaker Season 2 will also be a part of this continuity, but Gunn is still picking and choosing which aspects of the story to keep. It’s a pretty flexible setting at this point, as metahumans are well-established here with a long history and integration into every day life. What that means for an ordinary man who happens to be good with a hang-glider remains to be seen.

Peacemaker Season 2 premieres on August 21st on HBO Max. Season 1 is streaming there now, along with Creature Commandos. Peacemaker: The Official Podcast is available now on most podcast apps.

The post James Gunn Reveals Fan-Favorite Villain’s Fate in the DCU After Apparent Death appeared first on ComicBook.com.

James Gunn’s new DC Universe is officially underway, and while fans are still waiting to see how it all unfolds on screen, we know that the punches are going to hit hard. With Creature Commandos arriving first, Superman out now, and the second season of Peacemaker hitting our screens soon, the DCU is stacking its roster with some of the most lethal, inventive, and downright awesome combatants from across the comics. From metahumans with the power to shatter steel, to elite warriors trained in ancient martial arts, this is not the DC you thought you knew. Gunn has made it clear he’s bringing weird, wild, and sometimes wonderfully obscure characters into the spotlight, and many of them are absolute beasts in battle.

Whether they’re cutting through armies of monsters, taking on superpowered tyrants, or just wrecking shop with a gun and a grudge, these 10 fighters are the best of the best in the new DCU, and fans should definitely be paying attention.

10) Metamorpho (Superman)

One of the wildest additions to Gunn’s Superman cast is Metamorpho. More than just a fan-favorite deep cut, he’s a one-man chemical arsenal. Though you may not necessarily consider him a “fighter” in the traditional sense, Rex Mason can transmute his body into any element on the periodic table, allowing him to turn into gas, stone, acid, or metal mid-fight. Need a titanium wrecking ball? He is one.

In the comics, Metamorpho has also demonstrated resistance to mind control, immunity to toxins, and even the ability to phase through solid objects by turning into gas. He’s a frontline tank and a Swiss army knife rolled into one. While his original look is classically pulpy, Gunn’s DCU is leaning into his weirdness in the best way.

Metamorpho’s strange and unpredictable powers make him one of the most versatile fighters in DC Comics. And that’s exactly why he’s such an exciting fit for Gunn’s DCU. He fights using transformation and adaptability in ways that leave even the strongest enemies scrambling.

9) Hawkgirl (Superman)

Another major name that’s joined Gunn’s DCU is Hawkgirl. A warrior with a tragic past, razor-edged wings, and centuries of combat experience, Hawkgirl can bring it with the best of them. Whether she’s flying headfirst into battle, destroying the peace with her screeching, or swinging her iconic mace, Hawkgirl brings a level of ferocity few can match.

Hawkgirl’s primary weapon, the Nth metal mace, it’s both brutal and magically enhanced, capable of disrupting energy fields and magical constructs. Her wings are also infused with the same alien metal and grant her flight and enhanced durability. Depending on her incarnation, she’s also been known to possess advanced healing and resistance to mental attacks.

In the comics, she’s a close-quarters expert, and someone who’s been through more battles than most heroes can count. Her reincarnation cycle gives her the skills of countless lifetimes, and if Gunn sticks close to the source, this version will be a straight-up war goddess.

8) Rick Flag Sr. (Creature Commandos)

If the younger Rick Flag Jr. was a force in The Suicide Squad, you should take a proper look at his father. Rick Flag Sr. is the team leader in Gunn’s Creature Commandos, and this old-school war dog is bringing serious heat.

Flag Sr. brings a soldier’s grit and a lifetime’s worth of battlefield experience. He’s not flashy, but he’s lethal. Trained in tactics, weapons, and hand-to-hand combat. What makes Flag especially dangerous is his ability to lead from the front while going toe-to-toe with literal monsters.

7) The Engineer (Superman)

The Engineer is a walking, nanotech-powered superweapon, and her arrival in Superman is a game-changer. With her body infused with liquid machinery, she can transform her limbs into blades, guns, shields, or anything else the situation demands. Beyond combat, her nanotechnology gives her access to satellites, hacking capabilities, and advanced communication systems. In the comics, she’s been seen taking on entire teams of metahumans at once — and winning. She’s also a founding member of The Authority, which suggests her role in the DCU may extend far beyond just Superman.

The Engineer is one of the more morally complex characters in DC lore, and that makes her an unpredictable and dangerous fighter. Her powers allow her to fly, self-repair, and adapt in real time, making her nearly impossible to pin down in a fight.

6) Bloodsport (The Suicide Squad)

Don’t worry, we know that Idris Elba’s Bloodsport was technically in the DCEU, but James Gunn has confirmed him as a canon character in the new world order. Elba’s Bloodsport stole scenes — and body parts — in The Suicide Squad, and there’s no doubt this cold-blooded mercenary has the skills to back up his intimidating reputation. In the comics, Robert DuBois has gone toe-to-toe with Superman using kryptonite bullets and teleporting weapons. On screen, his suit is loaded with customizable weaponry, and every move is calculated. He’s not just shooting; he’s strategizing.

Bloodsport is a one-man arsenal, and in his brief stint on screen, he proved he could go toe-to-toe with metas and monsters alike. More than that, Bloodsport is clever. His prison breakout scenes and battlefield strategy show a level of situational awareness that makes him especially dangerous. And with his DCU confirmation, it will be great to see a reunion between him and Peacemaker. His only weaknesses are his daughter. And rats… don’t let him see rats.

5) Judomaster (Peacemaker)

Introduced in Peacemaker, Judomaster might be the smallest character on this list, but don’t let his size fool you — he hits like a tank. Nhut Le’s version of Judomaster quickly became a fan favorite for his speed, precision, and the sheer embarrassment he inflicted on his enemies. He’s a master of martial arts who favors momentum, misdirection, and speed over brute strength, which makes his takedowns even more impressive. In the show, he not only takes hits and keeps going, he welcomes the chaos.

Judomaster was one of the only characters able to take Peacemaker down, and more than once. His agility, combat technique, and fearlessness put him in a tier far beyond supporting cast. This little green menace fights with more heart (and more dropkicks) than just about anyone in the DCU.

4) The Bride (Creature Commandos)

Of all the oddball names on Creature Commandos, the Bride might be the biggest surprise — and the biggest threat. In both the comics and her DCU incarnation, the Bride is an elite-level combatant with enhanced strength, durability, and decades (if not centuries) of fighting knowledge. She’s been known to rip vehicles in half, tank bullets without flinching, and coordinate combat teams with military precision. Her tactical awareness is as lethal as her fists. Whether she’s wielding improvised weapons or using her monster strength to demolish buildings, she’s a natural-born leader in a world of monsters.

What makes her stand out isn’t just that she can go toe-to-toe with undead soldiers or vampire commandos, it’s that she combines the strength level of Frankenstein’s Monster with her sharp mind, strategic nouse, and complete ruthlessness when necessary. Gunn has always had a knack for turning unconventional characters into breakout stars. If he plays his cards right, the Bride might end up being one of the coolest — and most badass — additions to the entire DCU.

3) Peacemaker (Peacemaker)

John Cena’s Peacemaker is already a cornerstone of Gunn’s DC universe, and he’s more than earned it. He’s a bruiser, a brawler, and a surprisingly agile fighter who can wipe the floor with squads of trained killers while spouting one-liners. He’s proficient in firearms, explosives, grappling, and brutal hand-to-hand combat. What sets Peacemaker apart is his stamina; when he fights, he doesn’t stop. He’s also deceptively flexible and fast for someone his size, able to dodge blades and bullets mid-fight.

Peacemaker’s brutal fighting style blends military efficiency with raw, explosive power. As seen in The Suicide Squad as well as his own series, he can take punishment and keep going, often improvising in the middle of combat and turning the tables in the most violent way possible. While his moral code is… questionable at best, there’s no doubt that Peacemaker is one of the most skilled human fighters in the DCU. And with his brief cameo in Superman, and the second season of Peacemaker hitting our screens, expect him to play a bigger role as the universe expands.

2) Mister Terrific (Superman)

Edi Gathegi’s Mister Terrific has absolutely stolen the show when it comes to the new Superman movie. One of the smartest characters in all of DC Comics, Michael Holt is more than just brains. As Mister Terrific, he’s a master of martial arts, a genius inventor, and the kind of fighter who can defeat stronger opponents through pure strategy.

His T-Spheres give him remote offensive options, 360-degree battlefield awareness, hacking capabilities, and even levitation. In close quarters, he’s trained in multiple martial arts and has Olympic-level athleticism. His “fair play” mantra doesn’t mean holding back — it means fighting smart and with purpose. In the comics, Mister Terrific is a member of the Justice Society and a polymath who can out-think nearly anyone — even Batman. But when he needs to throw hands, he can do that too.

1) Superman (Superman)

Of course he’s number one. No list of DC fighters is complete without the Man of Steel himself. Yes, he has heat vision, super strength, flight, and invulnerability. But Superman isn’t just about powers, it’s about how he uses them. Over the decades, Clark has learned to fight aliens, robots, gods, and military tacticians. He’s trained in multiple forms of hand-to-hand combat (including Kryptonian martial arts), and he knows how to handle himself when brute force isn’t enough.

Superman’s reflexes, aerial maneuvering, and heat vision precision make him nearly untouchable. And when the gloves come off there are very few beings in the universe who can keep up. But Kal-El isn’t just the strongest hero in the DCU physically, his mental strength also comes into his own. He knows when to hit and when to hold back. Gunn’s version of the Man of Steel captures the timeless essence of the character while reflecting modern sensibilities, with influences of the Silver Age comics thrown in.

The post 10 Best Fighters in the New DCU Ranked appeared first on ComicBook.com.

“Ever since I had to team up with Matter-Eater Lad, my sense of what’s normal is a little f—ed up,” Christopher Smith (John Cena) casually remarks in Peacemaker season 1. In explaining the Bismollian’s ability to eat virtually any form of matter, Smith recalls seeing Matter-Eater Lad “eat an entire Wendy’s restaurant” because they “took too long with his fries.” While Smith has a habit of telling outlandish stories about his fellow superheroes — including false claims about Superman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and Green Arrow — it seems that Matter-Eater Lad is, in fact, canon with the rejiggered DC Universe.

“In the comics, Matter-Eater Lad is a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes, which means he’s from the future,” showrunner and series creator James Gunn explained on episode 4 of Peacemaker: The Official Podcast, in which the DC Studios co-chief breaks down what is (and isn’t) canon in the new DCU. “He doesn’t exist in present day.”

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“And so somehow he’s either traveled back in time to the present day to hang out with Peacemaker and eat a Wendy’s, or he’s a different character who exists in present time,” Gunn continued. “But I’m willing to say I’ll accept a Matter-Eater Lad. I think we can live with that.”

Because the first season of Peacemaker mentioned everyone from Batman’s “coterie of supervillains” like the Riddler, the Mad Hatter, and the Joker, to more obscure characters like Doll Man, Kite-Man, and Bat-Mite, Gunn and podcast co-hosts Jennifer Holland and Steve Agee (who play Emilia Harcourt and John Economos, respectively), have clarified whether or not such characters exist yet in the canon that includes Creature Commandos, Superman, and Peacemaker.

“We’ve decided that Doll Man’s canon, we’ve decided that Bat-Mite’s probably not canon, we know the Justice League isn’t canon,” Gunn explained to Adrian Chase/Vigilante actor Freddie Stroma, a first-time guest on the podcast.

In the comics, Matter-Eater Lad is Tenzil Kem, hailing from the planet Bismoll in the 30th Century. Created by Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel and Legion of Super-Heroes artist John Forte in 1962’s Adventure Comics #303, the newest Legionnaire was inducted into a team that included the likes of Cosmic Boy, Saturn Girl, Sun Boy, Lightning Lad, Bouncing Boy, Chameleon Boy, and Brainiac 5, who could conceivably exist in the far-off future of the DCU.

Superboy (a pre-teen Clark Kent) previously teamed with the time travelers from the 30th Century, although Gunn’s Superman movie makes it clear that the DCU Superman (David Corenswet) didn’t announce himself to the world until three years before the events of the film — some 300 years after the first metahumans became known to humanity.

Peacemaker season 2 — which stars returning cast members John Cena, Danielle Brooks, Jennifer Holland, Freddie Stroma, Steve Agee, and Robert Patrick, with series newcomers Frank Grillo, David Denman, Sol Rodriguez, and Tim Meadows — premieres August 21 on HBO Max.

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The post James Gunn Confirms a Weird Hero Is DCU Canon, Opening the Door for a Whole Team appeared first on ComicBook.com.

The launch of the new DC Universe has created a complex canonical puzzle for returning projects, and few are in a more unique position than Peacemaker. While its second season will be an official entry in James Gunn’s new canon, the first season now exists in a “soft canon” space. However, despite the timeline reset, Gunn is bringing back all the main characters from the 11th Street Kids, including John Economos (Steve Agee), whose place in the new DCU was already cemented by his appearance in the animated series Creature Commandos. The ARGUS agent served as the tech support and resident dye-beard expert for the team, but he also proved his mettle in multiple battles, even killing a rampaging gorilla with a chainsaw. ComicBook recently sat down with Steve Agee at Comic-Con, where the actor weighed in on the canonicity of what is arguably Economos’ single greatest feat.

“We have a podcast now where we rewatch Season 1, and we talk about what’s canon and what’s not,” Agee said. “I never thought to ask about the gorilla. I’m going to say yes. I think I still have [gorilla blood in my hands]. I think of all the people in the show, I have the lowest body count. So I want to keep it as high as I can.”

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“It’s funny because we shot Season 1 out of order,” Agee added, sharing a fascinating behind-the-scenes story about his gorilla-killing career. “There’s a scene where we’re shooting in an animal hospital. And there was a newspaper that Props had made, just on the table, where the magazines in the waiting room would be. And there was one about a gorilla that had been killed. I didn’t put two and two together until we actually filmed the episode where I killed the gorilla. I’m like, ‘Oh my god, I was the killer of that gorilla!'”

In addition to cementing the gorilla murder as canon, Agee confirmed that the relationship between his character and Christopher Smith (John Cena) will have evolved since their last encounter. The first season ended with the team fractured but bonded by trauma, and it seems that dynamic will carry forward. “I think in Season 2, Peacemaker and I are a lot cooler with each other,” he teased. “I don’t want to give too much away, but it’s definitely a better relationship.”

Everything We Know About Peacemaker Season 2

The second season of Peacemaker is set a couple of years after the events of Project Butterfly, allowing the world of the DCU to have reacted to Leota Adebayo’s (Danielle Brooks) public exposure of Amanda Waller’s (Viola Davis) clandestine operations. This time jump strategically places the series within the new timeline that has already been established in Creature Commandos and the recently released Superman.

Alongside Cena and Agee, Season 2 of Peacemaker is also bringing back Brooks as Adebayo, Jennifer Holland as Emilia Harcourt, and Freddie Stroma as the fan-favorite sociopath Vigilante. Nhut Le is also confirmed to return as Judomaster. The new season will also heavily feature a multiverse plotline, which allows for the return of Robert Patrick as Auggie Smith, Peacemaker’s abusive and deceased father. Trailers have revealed an alternate reality where Auggie is wearing a blue White Dragon suit, fighting alongside a variant of Peacemaker and his brother, who is alive in this dimension.

Rounding up the cast, Frank Grillo will appear as Rick Flag Sr., the father of the soldier Peacemaker killed in The Suicide Squad. As the new head of ARGUS, Flag Sr. is driven by a personal vendetta to hunt Christopher Smith down, promising a grounded and intense conflict. The cast is further bolstered by the addition of Tim Meadows, David Denman, and Sol Rodriguez in undisclosed roles. The series is set to continue its blend of violent action, irreverent humor, and surprising emotional depth as it finds its new place within the DCU.

Peacemaker Season 2 will debut on HBO Max on August 21, 2025.

What Season 1 moment do you hope is still canon in Peacemaker Season 2? Let us know in the comments!

The post Peacemaker’s Steve Agee Reveals Season 1 Moment That’s Definitely Still Canon appeared first on ComicBook.com.

The launch of James Gunn’s new DC Universe marks a significant moment in superhero cinema, establishing a fully inhabited world populated by a diverse roster of heroes and villains. From its opening theatrical chapter, Superman, the DCU has made it clear that it is a universe with a deep history, including previous iterations of the Justice Gang and many classic DC heroes being referenced through Easter eggs. So, since part of the fun with powered individuals is to imagine who would win in a fight, the time is ripe to break down the power scale of the confirmed DCU superheroes.

With just a handful of projects already released, we still can’t tell exactly how strong the DCU iterations of some of its heroes truly are. This means we are excluding figures who only appeared in Easter eggs and quick cameos, like The Flash, Batman, and Wonder Woman in Creature Commandos. Furthermore, this list focuses on public superheroes, not covert operatives, so we are also not listing the monstrous members of the Creature Commandos or Amanda Waller’s A.R.G.U.S. agents, who operate in the shadows of black ops rather than as crimefighters. Finally, we are also ignoring characters who are yet to debut, even if we know they’ll appear shortly, like Kyle Chandler as Hal Jordan and Aaron Pierre as John Stewart in the Lanterns series.

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With that said, this ranking is based on the powers, skills, and overall combat effectiveness demonstrated by these characters within the new DCU canon so far. As this universe expands, this hierarchy will undoubtedly shift, but for now, this is how the confirmed heroes of the new DCU stack up.

9) Vigilante

First appearing in Peacemaker, Adrian Chase (Freddie Stroma) is the deeply disturbed and socially inept crimefighter known as Vigilante. While his DCU journey has been short, with Peacemaker Season 1 being recently canonized by James Gunn, the series establishes that Vigilante acts as a crimefighter for years before he becomes an A.R.G.U.S. black-op agent. Lacking any superpowers, he operates with a twisted moral code and an unsettling admiration for Peacemaker (John Cena). Vigilante’s combat effectiveness stems from his exceptional marksmanship, proficient hand-to-hand fighting skills, and a remarkable tolerance for pain.

Vigilante’s placement at the bottom of this ranking is unavoidable due to his status as a baseline human. While his combat training makes him dangerous to ordinary criminals, he is completely outclassed in a world that includes alien warriors and elemental beings. His skills and disturbing enthusiasm are his only assets, but they are simply insufficient against the scale of threats faced by other heroes. In any conflict that moves beyond street-level crime, Vigilante would be a liability, making him the weakest, albeit one of the most memorable, heroes in the new DCU.

8) Peacemaker

Christopher Smith, the infamous Peacemaker, is an expert killer who fanatically believes in achieving peace at any cost. His story, established in Peacemaker Season 1, continues squarely in the new DCU thanks to Season 2 of histitular show and a hilarious cameo in Superman. Peacemaker is a master tactician and an elite combatant with peak-human physical conditioning, just like Vigilante.  However, his greatest assets are his collection of advanced helmets created by his father, each granting a unique and powerful ability, such as generating a devastating sonic boom, activating a defensive force field, or enabling underwater travel.

Peacemaker ranks above his admirer, Vigilante, due to his superior training, tactical mind, and highly versatile technology. His helmets give him options in a fight that go far beyond conventional weaponry, allowing him to contend with more powerful foes, as seen in his battle against the Butterflies and their leader. However, at his core, he is still a man who relies on gear. His power is borrowed from technology, and he lacks the world-breaking abilities of the metahumans ranked higher.

7) Hawkgirl

A core member of the corporate-backed superhero team known as the Justice Gang in Superman, Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced) is a fierce and aggressive warrior. Her primary abilities shown on-screen are flight, which she achieves with a pair of large wings, and her skill in close-quarters combat. She also wields a colossal mace, a weapon capable of delivering devastating physical blows, which matches her ferocious fighting style.

Hawkgirl is undeniably a powerful warrior, but based on what has been shown, her abilities are focused on direct physical confrontation. While her wings and mace make her a formidable opponent, she has not demonstrated the kind of esoteric or cosmic powers that many other heroes possess. Her strength lies in her martial prowess and the brute force she can bring to a fight. This makes her perfectly suited for battling monsters and armored soldiers, but her currently demonstrated power set appears more limited than other DCU superheroes.

6) Mister Terrific

Michael Holt (Edi Gathegi), also known as Mister Terrific, is another key member of the Justice Gang and is portrayed in Superman as one of the most brilliant minds on the planet. Operating without any biological superpowers, his effectiveness as a hero comes entirely from his genius-level intellect and his mastery of advanced technology. His signature inventions are his T-Spheres, a swarm of mentally controlled drones that serve multiple functions. In the film, these spheres are used as concussive explosives, hacking tools, and holographic projectors, showcasing the variety of powers Mister Terrific can emulate with technology alone.

In addition to the T-Spheres, Mister Terrific’s intellect is a superpower in itself. He ranks above purely physical fighters like Hawkgirl because his strategic capabilities and adaptable technology allow him to solve problems that cannot be solved with brute force. His quick thinking is crucial in containing threats during the film, where he successfully uses his T-Spheres to kill a kaiju and later closes a reality-threatening rift created by Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult). His T-Spheres give him a solution for nearly any scenario, effectively making him a one-man army capable of outthinking and outmaneuvering opponents who would otherwise be far outside his weight class.

5) Krypto

The Last Dog of Krypton, Krypto is Superman’s (David Corenswet) loyal canine companion and a super-powered being in his own right. Having traveled from Krypton as a puppy, he was exposed to Earth’s yellow sun and granted the full spectrum of Kryptonian abilities, including flight, super strength, and heat vision. In Superman, he is shown to be a playful but incredibly powerful pet, and his power is instrumental in defeating Lex Luthor’s Superman clone, Ultraman, by destroying the drones that Luthor uses to control the clone.

Krypto ranks this high for a simple reason: he is essentially Superman in the form of a dog. He possesses the same god-like abilities, making him one of the mightiest beings on the planet. He can move buildings and fly faster than a speeding bullet. The only factor that keeps him from being even higher is his animal intelligence. He operates on instinct and loyalty, not strategy or reason. This makes him a loving pet who just so happens to have the power to shatter continents.

4) Metamorpho

Introduced in Superman as a tragic figure, Rex Mason (Anthony Carrigan) is the hero known as Metamorpho. His powers give him complete control over his own molecular structure, allowing him to shapeshift, stretch his limbs, and create complex chemical compounds from his own body. Initially a reluctant prisoner of Lex Luthor, who coerces him into servitude by holding his son hostage, Metamorpho transforms into Kryptonite to poison Superman. After a change of heart, he then generates a miniature yellow sun to help a weakened Superman recover. Both feats serve to demonstrate how versatile Metamorpho’s powers can be.

Metamorpho’s elemental transmutation places him in a significantly higher tier of power. His ability to alter his chemical makeup at will makes him one of the most unpredictable heroes in the DCU. He can adapt to virtually any environment or opponent by turning his hands into solid weapons, his body into a gaseous state to evade attacks, or his skin into hardened steel for defense. He can also create acid or any dangerous substance on a whim. This level of molecular control grants him an offensive and defensive arsenal that far surpasses conventional technology or physical strength, making him a true powerhouse.

3) Green Lantern (Guy Gardner)

Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion) is the notoriously headstrong Green Lantern of Space Sector 2814. He appears in Superman as a veteran member of both the intergalactic Green Lantern Corps and the Justice Gang, wielding one of the most powerful weapons in the universe: a Green Lantern Power Ring. This device allows him to create hard-light constructs of anything he can imagine, with the strength of those creations limited only by his own willpower. In the film, he uses the ring to create aggressive and often humorous constructs, like oven mitts to handle a kaiju and a giant middle finger to swat at enemy tanks.

The sheer potential of a Power Ring places Guy Gardner near the top of this list. With it, he can fly at superluminal speeds, survive in any environment, and generate constructs ranging from simple energy blasts to incredibly complex machinery. Plus, his power source is cosmic in scale, allowing him to contend with threats that could endanger entire planets. While Guy’s arrogant and confrontational personality is often a weakness, the reality-warping capability of his ring is undeniable. In terms of pure potential, he operates on a level that most other Earth-based heroes cannot begin to approach.

2) Supergirl

Kara Zor-El (Milly Alcock), Superman’s cousin, is the other known Kryptonian survivor to have landed on Earth. Like all members of her race, exposure to a yellow sun grants her a staggering array of powers, including flight, superhuman strength, speed, and durability, as well as heat vision. Her appearance in a Superman closing scene establishes her as a more emotionally volatile character than her cousin, arriving at the Fortress of Solitude after an off-world bender, with Clark revealing to the audience that she travels to planets with red suns specifically to be able to get drunk.

While she’s not on screen for long, Supergirl shares the exact same Kryptonian physiology as Superman, making her one of the two most powerful heroes introduced in the DCU. Her potential is limitless, and in a contest of raw strength, she is his equal. She is ranked just slightly below him for her lack of experience, temperament, and self-destructive habits. While Superman is a seasoned hero who has spent years mastering his abilities and defining his moral code, Kara is portrayed as a newer and more impulsive superhero. So, she has the same world-breaking power but has not yet demonstrated the same level of discipline and control.

1) Superman

As the flagship hero of the new DCU, Clark Kent, the Man of Steel, stands as its strongest and most inspirational figure. A seasoned hero who is fully comfortable with his role as humanity’s protector, he embodies kindness and compassion while wielding an almost limitless array of powers. As a Kryptonian, he possesses immense strength, speed, flight, invulnerability, X-ray vision, and powerful heat vision. In his debut film, he also performs incredible feats, such as physically overpowering a monstrous kaiju and later defeating his own powerful clone, Ultraman.

Superman is definitely the most powerful hero in the DCU. In Superman, he demonstrates incredible precision and restraint, always prioritizing the safety of civilians in the most chaotic battles. He is the complete package, combining overwhelming strength with the control and character to use it for the good of all, setting the ultimate standard for what it means to be a hero.

The post Every Confirmed Superhero in the DCU From Weakest to Strongest appeared first on ComicBook.com.

After several successful releases, there are still six Marvel and DC movies and TV shows scheduled to release in 2025. This year has already been a great one for superhero fans, as the Marvel Cinematic Universe expanded with Captain America: Brave New World, Daredevil: Born Again, Thunderbolts*, Ironheart, and The Fantastic Four: First Steps, while the rebooted DC Universe really kicked off with Superman’s release. The fun doesn’t end there, however, as there are a few more projects ready to hit the big and small screen in 2025.

While there are six projects connected directly to stories and characters from Marvel and DC Comics, an honorable mention must also go to the upcoming The Toxic Avenger movie. After a premiere at Fantastic Fest in 2023, The Toxic Avenger remake will finally hit theaters on August 29, 2025, and the character’s brief Marvel Comics limited series, which spanned 11 issues from 1992 to 1993, technically makes it an upcoming Marvel release. Of course, there are more closely connected Marvel and DC movies and TV shows in the pipeline, making 2025 one of the most exciting superhero-packed years yet.

Death: The High Cost of Living (July 31)

Marking the end of The Sandman on Netflix, which is based on the DC Comics series written by Neil Gaiman between 1989 and 1996, “Death: The High Cost of Living” hits the streaming service on July 31, 2025. This special bonus episode focuses on the character of Death (Kirby Howell-Baptiste), Dream’s (Tom Sturridge) older sister. The 1993 Vertigo Comics – DC’s more mature imprint – issue of the same name sees Death take her one-day-every-hundred-year sabbatical as a living person when she leads the suicidal Sexton on a journey of self-discovery. This is a tender and heartfelt end to Netflix’s The Sandman.

6) Eyes Of Wakanda (August 1)

After the recent premiere of The Fantastic Four: First Steps, the animated Eyes of Wakanda series will continue to expand the MCU. The Marvel Studios Animation series will be the first animated show to take place in the MCU’s main continuity of Earth 616, and will see Wakandan warriors travel the world across many centuries to recover stolen vibranium artifacts. Winnie Harlow, Cress Williams, Steve Toussaint, and more voice previously-unseen Wakandan characters in Eyes of Wakanda, bringing us back to the fictional African nation and developing the Black Panther franchise in new ways before production starts on Black Panther 3.

5) Iron Man and His Awesome Friends (August 11)

Not canon to the MCU but produced by Marvel Studios Animation, Iron Man and His Awesome Friends will bring Tony Stark’s Iron Man (Mason Blomberg), Riri Williams’ Ironheart (Kapri Ladd), and Amadeus Cho’s Iron Hulk (Aidyn Ahn) to a preschool audience. The three armored best friends will team up to save the world on Disney Jr., while other Marvel characters, including Vision, Ultron, Swarm, Absorbing Man, Captain America, Black Panther, and Spider-Man, among others, will also appear. A series of shorts have already introduced these young characters, but Iron Man and His Awesome Friends will develop them even further.

4) Peacemaker Season 2 (August 21)

Simultaneously connected to the first season while also being set in the newly-rebooted DCU, Peacemaker season 2 will bring back John Cena as Christopher Smith’s Peacemaker following his recent cameo in 2025’s Superman reboot. Most of season 1’s cast will return, while members of Superman’s Justice Gang and Frank Grillo’s Rick Flag Sr. will also appear, cementing Peacemaker as an official part of the new DCU. Peacemaker season 2 will see Smith find a doorway to another dimension while being hunted by Flag for his son’s murder (Joel Kinnaman), leading to some early multiversal adventures for the new DCU.

3) Aztec Batman: Clash of Empires (September 19)

In collaboration between Warner Bros. Animation and Mexican animation studio Ánima, Aztec Batman: Clash of Empires will introduce Horacio García Rojas as Yohualli Coatl, an orphan priest in the court of King Moctezuma II, who works to defy Spanish invaders and protect his people as the masked vigilante, Batman. Completely produced in Mexico, Aztec Batman will debut Mexican versions of iconic Batman-related characters, including the Joker, Two-Face, and the Caped Crusader himself. The animated movie will see a theatrical release in Mexico on September 18, 2025, before hitting HBO Max on September 19th.

2) Marvel Zombies (October 3)

Spinning off from the first season of the animated What If…? series, Marvel Studios Animation’s Marvel Zombies will explore this zombie-infested reality over four episodes. Marvel Zombies will pit heroes such as Red Guardian, Shang-Chi, Kate Bishop, Ironheart, and more against a zombified Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) and her legions. These zombies originated with a Quantum Virus brought back from the Quantum Realm by Hank Pym and Janet van Dyne. What storyline Marvel Zombies will actually explore is still a mystery, but the series will be a fun addition to the Multiverse Saga.

1) Wonder Man (December)

The next live-action MCU instalment is also 2025’s final superhero project. Wonder Man is scheduled to hit Disney+ in December, introducing audiences to Yahya Abdul-Mateen II’s Simon Williams, a superpowered Hollywood actor who auditions for the lead role in a superhero TV series. He’ll be joined by Ben Kingsley, Ed Harris, Demetrius Grosse, Lauren Glazier, and more, expanding the MCU into exciting new territories. Introducing Wonder Man in the lead-up to Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars means he could play a key role in Phase 6’s upcoming crossovers, especially if he rounds off 2025 with a powerful debut.

Which upcoming Marvel or DC release in 2025 are you most excited for? Let us know in the comments!

The post All 6 Marvel & DC Movies & TV Shows Still To Come In 2025 appeared first on ComicBook.com.

DC’s new movie and television universe is off to a stellar start thanks to Creature Commandos and Superman, and things are only going to get bigger from here. The expanding DCU already has a stacked slate of projects hitting theaters and streaming platforms, including Lanterns, Peacemaker, Supergirl, and Clayface, and that’s on top of projects that are still in early development like the Deathstroke and Bane film, the Waller TV series, and Brave and the Bold. As the next chapter of the DCU nears, a previous hit DC series has made its return to the streaming charts, and it’s in some exceptional company.

Today’s top TV shows on HBO Max (via FlixPatrol) includes an R-rated DC favorite back in the top 10, and that would be season 1 of Peacemaker. With the impending release of Peacemaker season 2, the original season shot back up to take the eighth spot earlier in the day amongst all HBO Max TV shows, and as of right now, it holds the tenth spot.

Peacemaker season 1 has some interesting company in the top 10, including Rick and Morty, The Gilded Age, And Just Like That…, and Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, as well as Chespirito: Not Really on Purpose, Rage (Furia), Black Widows: Wh*res & Hustlers, La voragine, and Bahar.

On the movie side, it will be a little while before Superman soars onto the charts thanks to its relatively recent theatrical release, but there are still some big movies making an impact. The top spot goes to Sinners, and it’s followed by two video game adaptations in A Minecraft Movie and Until Dawn. Kandahar and Wicked round out the top 5, and Wicked will likely become even more popular on the service the closer we get to the release of Wicked: For Good.

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What to Expect from Peacemaker Season 2

As for Peacemaker, the trailer has teased some intriguing multiversal concepts at play, but James Gunn has also stated that for those looking for a direct step from Superman, Peacemaker season 2 is the show you’re waiting for. On the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Gunn said, “Don’t leave out Peacemaker 2. Peacemaker 2 is a direct follow-up to Superman. You know, we have so many characters from, Rick Flag is in it. Hawkgirl, Maxwell Lord, you know Guy Gardner, so it’s the direct follow-up to Superman, but very R-Rated.”

While Peacemaker and his allies did in fact save the world in season 1, they’ve yet to achieve the sort of stardom or appreciation of some of the DCU’s more well-known heroes, and that isn’t setting well with anyone, especially Peacemaker.

“We come into season 2 with Peacemaker knowing that he saved the world from the Butterflies,” Gunn told EW. “He thinks he’s a big star now, and he should be a real superhero. And we see at the very beginning of episode 1 that he’s meeting with the group of superheroes from Superman, and he’s basically interviewing for membership in the group. But they just mock him the entire time, so he’s not taken seriously.”

That will lead to Peacemaker discovering that this isn’t the only universe out there, and what if he could have the superhero life he’s always wanted? Would he leave our world and take someone else’s existence to live that out? Season 2 will be tackling that very subject, and we can’t wait to see what Gunn has in store for the crew this time around.

Peacemaker season 2 will premiere on HBO Max on August 21st.

Are you excited for Peacemaker season 2, and what do you want to see from the new season? Let us know in the comments, and you can talk all things DC and TV with me on Bluesky @knightofoa!

The post Hit DC Series Returns to HBO Max Streaming Chart As Fans Await New Season appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Before Peacemaker revealed Vigilante’s secret identity to be sadistic busboy and born killer Adrian Chase (Freddie Stroma), there was a different actor under the mask. In the first season of James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad spinoff, the costumed maniac tagged along with “best friend” and contract killer Christopher Smith (John Cena), whose 11th Street Kids — Emilia Harcourt (Jennifer Holland), Leota Adebayo (Danielle Brooks), and John Economos (Steve Agee) — saved the world from an alien invasion as part of Amanda Waller’s (Viola Davis) Project Butterfly.

But the series originally cast actor Chris Conrad (Patriot), who filmed half of the eight-episode first season in the Vigilante suit before being replaced with Stroma. On episode 2 of Peacemaker: The Official Podcast with James Gunn, the showrunner and series creator explained why he decided to recast the role midway through filming season 1.

“We had shot all of episodes 1 through 5, and we had also shot part of 8. And then we were like, for various reasons, ‘We need to recast the actor,'” Gunn said. “I was having anxiety at night because I was like, ‘I love this show more than anything I’ve ever done before.’ And one particular part of it wasn’t working as well as it could, and it happened to be everyone’s favorite character in the script.”

Peacemaker filmed its first season during the COVID pandemic in early 2021, which meant a new actor would be required to quarantine for two-weeks before joining the Vancouver-based production. “We went out and we had to find a Vigilante, and we had to find them quickly,” Gunn said. Because half of the episodes had already been shot with the mostly-masked Vigilante in costume, the new actor needed to fit the suit tailored to Conrad’s physique.

“We had to find someone who was a certain height to fit into the suit, and it was very difficult,” he continued. “We actually had to cast around the suit because we didn’t have time to make a new suit.”

“Through a lot of these episodes in season 1 when you see an actor with the full suit and helmet on, it’s oftentimes the original actor,” added Holland, who co-hosts the rewatch podcast with Agee and Gunn. “[Stroma’s voice] is dubbed over the other actor.”

While the original actor goes unnamed, it was reported in 2021 that Conrad “amicably” exited Peacemaker “due to creative differences.”

Peacemaker season 2 — starring returning series regulars John Cena, Danielle Brooks, Jennifer Holland, Freddie Stroma, Steve Agee, and Robert Patrick alongside new cast members Frank Grillo, David Denman, Sol Rodriguez, and Tim Meadows — premieres August 21 on HBO Max.

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Do ya really wanna, do ya really wanna taste of the DCU? James Gunn gave fans just that with the one-two punch of Creature Commandos and Superman, which officially kicked off the new DC Universe Gunn is spearheading with producer Peter Safran. Up next from DC Studios is season 2 of Peacemaker, Gunn’s hit The Suicide Squad spinoff fronted by John Cena (who donned the chrome dome helmet for the first time since 2022 during a surprise cameo in Superman).

Gunn promoted the show’s August 21 return on HBO Max with a costume-clad Cena at San Diego Comic-Con over the weekend, where Gunn took over Hall H to tout the new season with a star-studded cast panel, an immersive themed experience, and live musical performances by Steel Panther and Foxy Shazam as part of “Peacefest.”

So when Gunn gave an update on the DCU slate to TikTok influencer Straw Hat Goofy, the co-head of DC Studios playfully ignored Cena — in character as Peacemaker — to talk up everything but the new season of Peacemaker.

“We’ve got some really cool stuff happening. We’ve got Supergirl coming out in a year, we’ve got Lanterns coming out probably less than a year. That’s some really good stuff,” Gunn said in between cuts to an unimpressed Peacemaker. “We’re making Clayface right now, we’re working on The Brave and the Bold, Wonder Woman, The Batman 2 with Matt Reeves, we’re working on that. We’re working on Sgt. Rock … Krypto shorts for kids that are really fun.”

“That’s pretty much everything that I care about DC,” Gunn said, prompting Peacemaker to respond with, “What the f—, guys?!”

One project on the backburner is The Authority, which was announced as part of the initial wave of DC Studios projects in 2023. Gunn reaffirmed that the planned live-action movie — about a world-policing superhero team with a zero tolerance approach to threats — has fallen by the wayside.

“This is one of my real passion projects,” Gunn said at the time. “I’ve been working really hard on it with the writers and we’re starting to put together the entire story. This is a big movie.” Gunn noted that The Authority originated in the WildStorm imprint and that “we’re moving a lot of these WildStorm characters into the DCU” — the first being María Gabriela de Faría’s Angela Spica/the Engineer in Superman.

“The Authority’s a very different kind of superhero story,” he continued. “They’re basically good-intentioned, 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—basically, whatever they want to do to make the world better. We’ll see how that journey goes for them. There are morally gray characters [in our DCU], of which these are.”

In February, Gunn revealed that The Authority “has had a harder time coming along” than other projects first announced in 2023. “It hasn’t been much [of] a priority.” More recently, Gunn has put pen to paper on his next feature script that is “in some way” related to his Superman movie but not “a straight-up Superman sequel.” That could be an adaptation of Superman and the Authority, Grant Morrison’s four-issue series that sees the Man of Steel recruit Manchester Black and a team of anti-heroes — including Apollo and Midnighter — to help him save the world.

Peacemaker season 2 — starring returning series regulars John Cena, Danielle Brooks, Jennifer Holland, Freddie Stroma, Steve Agee, and Robert Patrick alongside new cast members Frank Grillo, David Denman, Sol Rodriguez, and Tim Meadows — premieres August 21 on HBO Max.

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Holy retcon, Batman! The first season of James Gunn’s Peacemaker referenced everyone from Superman, Wonder Woman, and Aquaman of the Justice League and name-dropped Batman’s “coterie of supervillains” like the Joker, the Riddler, and Mad Hatter. Over eight episodes, characters mentioned usual suspects like The Suicide Squad‘s Bloodsport (Idris Elba), Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), Ratcatcher 2 (Daniela Melchior), Weasel (Sean Gunn), and Rick Flag Jr. (Joel Kinnaman), but the series also name-checked characters who had yet to appear in the DC Extended Universe (or the newly rebooted DC Universe).

Obscure characters like the shrinking Doll Man, Matter-Eater Lad of the Legion of Super-Heroes, Kite-Man, and Bat-Mite. But as it turns out, the “two-foot-tall interdimensional Imp who stans Batman” that John Economos (Steve Agee) revealed to exist in the first season episode “Best Friends For Never” isn’t canon with the rejiggered DCU.

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“I will say that everything in the [episode] is canon except for maybe Bat-Mite,” Gunn, the episode’s writer-director, revealed on Peacemaker: The Official Podcast with James Gunn. “He’s one of my favorite characters, but I can’t say for sure that Bat-Mite is real.”

“He’s a wonderful character from the comics,” the DC Studios co-chief went on to explain to podcast co-host Steve Agee. “He’s an Imp from the Fifth Dimension who looks creepy and dresses in a little Batman costume. Except the ears are bent, because it’s a really ill-fitting Batman costume. He’s got skinny little legs [and] a fat little body, and he worships Batman. And so he tries to create these extraordinary circumstances for Batman to prove he’s a hero, and it’s these nightmarish scenarios.”

While Bat-Mite might not exist (yet) in the new DCU, both the Gunn-penned Creature Commandos and Superman featured mentions of the reality-warping Imps. The former mentioned “Mites,” and the latter included a scene in which Maxwell Lord’s (Sean Gunn) Justice Gang — Mr. Terrific (Edi Gathegi), Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced), and Green Lantern Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion) — saved Metropolis from an “interdimensional Imp.”

Besides the hero-worshipping Bat-Mite, the most infamous Imp is the “magic” trickster Mister Mxyzptlk, who frequently challenges Superman.

Peacemaker season 2 — starring returning series regulars John Cena, Danielle Brooks, Jennifer Holland, Freddie Stroma, Steve Agee, and Robert Patrick alongside new cast members Frank Grillo, David Denman, Sol Rodriguez, and Tim Meadows — premieres August 21 on HBO Max.

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The post James Gunn Reveals One Part of Peacemaker Isn’t Confirmed DCU Canon (Yet) appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Peacemaker Season 2 will replace the show’s fan-favorite opening theme with the song “Oh Lord” by Foxy Shazam. DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn broke the news on Saturday at San Diego Comic-Con, at an event called “Peacefest” hosted by HBO Max. Just as Gunn told the crowd what the new theme song would be, he also introduced Foxy Shazam for a surprise live performance that got fans on their feet. Peacemaker‘s Season 1 opening theme, “Do Ya Wanna Taste It” by Wig Wam, was a huge hit among fans and critics, especially with its choreographed dance number. We’ll see if the new opener can live up to this praise when it premieres on Thursday, August 21st on HBO Max.

Gunn delivered the big reveal himself at Peacefest on Saturday night with high praise for Foxy Shazam. He said, “I am here to reveal right now — it is a song from my favorite band in the world that is objectively the greatest rock ‘n’ roll band in the world, Foxy Shazam, here they are. They’re gonna perform it for you guys — ‘Oh Lord’ — come on guys!”

Foxy Shazam formed in Cincinnati, Ohio in 2004, and has been categorized as pop rock, alternative rock, and even glam rock at times. They’re a good fit for the hair metal motif that Gunn maintained throughout Peacemaker Season 1. The group went on some legendary tours and released five studio albums between 2004 and 2014, when they went on an indefinite hiatus. During their time apart, several band members pursued other projects before they finally reunited in 2020. Since then, they’ve released four more studio albums.

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“Oh Lord” is a fan-favorite track from band’s 2010 self-titled album, before their hiatus. This is the second time Gunn has licensed the band’s music for Peacemaker — the trailer for Season 1 was set to their 2012 song “Welcome to the Church of Rock and Roll.”

Peacemaker Season 2 has the difficult task of bringing the characters into Gunn’s emerging DC Universe franchise without interrupting the momentum of the story already underway. We’ve already heard that the new season will feature appearances by several familiar DCU characters, including Nathan Fillion as the Green Lantern Guy Gardner, Isabela Merced as Hawkgirl, and Sean Gunn as Maxwell Lord. Still, Gunn told fans that satisfying character arcs are his main priority here.

“I really like TV shows where the characters don’t just return every season and they’re the same exact characters. I want to see growth,” he said at SDCC. “I want to see change and sometimes regression. And Peacemaker is a different guy this year. He’s dealing with the demons he uncovered from the first season and trying to deal with them, and the world is not accepting him the way he is. They aren’t accepting him as a hero.”

Peacemaker Season 1 is streaming now on HBO Max. Season 2 premieres on Thursday, August 21st. Foxy Shazam’s music is available now on most major music streaming platforms.

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James Gunn was a busy man at San Diego Comic-Con this weekend. Not only did attend the panel for the second season of Peacemaker, which will debut on HBO Max next month, but the co-head of DC Studios also appeared at Peacefest, an activation on site of San Diego Comic-Con to promote the John Cena-led series. His appearance at San Diego Comic-Con marked his first public appearance since the release of Superman and the long extensive press tour Gunn and the cast embarked on to celebrate its release. So, it’s not surprising then that Gunn sought to have some fun, by comparing two of the biggest super pets currently within the DC Universe: Eagly and Krypto.

During the panel for Peacemaker Season 2, James Gunn was asked who was the better super pet: Eagly or Krypto? Both John Cena and Gunn agreed that Eagly was the better pet of the two. Gunn’s reasoning was that Eagly was better behaved than Krypto was, something that fans can surely agree on. After all, Eagly is meant to be loyal and endearing and he’s exactly that in Peacemaker. While Krypto can be loyal, he’s also incredibly strong, which would ultimately lead to the lesser-behaved Krypto winning in a fight between the two super pets, if it came down to it.

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James Gunn Calls Peacemaker Season 2 His Favorite Soundtrack (and Teases More Ozzy Osbourne)

Gunn is known for making the most unlikely of characters incredibly endearing on screen. We saw this best with the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise for Marvel Studios, where he managed to get general audiences to not only fall in love with a tree capable of saying three words, but also a gun-toting raccoon. Like with his use of music, Gunn has found a way to successfully make his animal characters just as important to story being told. In the case of Eagly, the loyal pet companion of Peacemaker quickly became a scene-stealer in the first season of Peacemaker. The same can be said for Krypto in the recently released Superman.

Eagly is affectionate, and not only gives Peacemaker hugs, but is also known to bring him dead rodents as a sign of love. He’s essentially a golden retriever in bald eagle form. While in Superman, Krypto is fully his own being with his own personality. He’s unruly, albeit cute. In one scene in the film, we see him making a huge mess as he destroys parts of the Fortress of Solitude, and in another we see him playfully nip at Superman’s feet. He’s a menace in the best ways possible, and adding his powers, Krypto is a force to be reckoned with even when he’s not acting up.

Fans can reacquaint themselves with Eagly in the first season of Peacemaker, which is now streaming exclusively on HBO Max. Or if they haven’t already, they can meet Krypto by going to see Superman in theaters now. Which super pet do you think is the best, and why?

Season 2 of Peacemaker will debut on August 21st on HBO Max. New episodes are slated to be released weekly on the streaming platform.

The post James Gunn Says Eagly is Better Than Krypto (& Settles Who Would Win A Fight) appeared first on ComicBook.com.

James Gunn is a writer and director known for his use of music in his films and television shows. It was during his work on Guardians of the Galaxy for Marvel Studios that fans came to know his well-curated soundtracks that managed to compliment the project, feeling like an important piece of the overall story. Now, as Gunn continues his work with DC, the co-head of DC Studios is still finding ways to incorporate his love of music into each project he works on, with the latest being Peacemaker‘s second season. While promoting the series at San Diego Comic-Con this weekend, Gunn revealed that Peacemaker Season 2 has his favorite soundtrack. He also made note of one artist fans will hear in the upcoming season beyond the newest trailer: Ozzy Osbourne.

While on stage at San Diego Comic-Con, Gunn said that the soundtrack for Season 2 of Peacemaker is his favorite soundtrack he’s ever done, noting that there are more modern acts this time around. He stated that the soundtrack is, “in line with the soundtrack from the first season, but a lot more modern bands.” He also noted the use of the late Ozzy Osbourne in the new trailer for Peacemaker‘s second season, suggesting that isn’t the only Ozzy song will hear associated with Peacemaker. “Ozzy Osbourne in the trailer — that was really sad the other day [when he passed away], and it wasn’t until this morning I remembered we had him in the trailer and in this season.”

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The newly released trailer for Peacemaker Season 2, which can be viewed above, features the Ozzy Osbourne song “Road to Nowhere.” While Gunn didn’t specify what other Ozzy song will be used in the upcoming season, fans can enjoy the excellent use of “Road to Nowhere” in the newest trailer. The first season of Peacemaker included songs such as “Pumped Up Kicks” by Foster the People, “Do Ya Wanna Taste It” by Wig Wam, “I Don’t Love You Anymore” by The Quireboys, “Borderline Crazy” by The Cruel Intentions, and “Push Push (Lady Lightening)” by Bang Camaro.

The events of Peacemaker Season 2 are set to take place after the events of Superman, with John Cena’s titular character shown to be further exploring the Quantum Unfolding Chamber this season in order to explore other dimensions. Along with Chris exploring other dimensions, though, the second season of Peacemaker will also see Frank Grillo’s Rick Flag Sr. on the hunt for Peacemaker after he killed Rick Flag Jr., played by Joel Kinnaman, in 2021’s The Suicide Squad.

Peacemaker stars John Cena as Chris Smith/Peacemaker, Danielle Brooks as Leota Adebayo, Jennifer Holland as Agent Emilia Harcourt, Freddie Stroma as Adrian Chase/Vigilante, Steve Agee as John Economos, Chukwudi Iwuji as Clemson Murn, Robert Patrick as Auggie Smith/White Dragon, Michael Rooker as Red St. Wild, Frank Grillo as Rick Flag Sr., Tim Meadows as Langston Fleury, and Sol Rodriguez as Sasha Bordeaux. The upcoming season is expected to feature appearances from characters in Superman, although Gunn did not specify what character fans can expect to show up.

The eight-episode second season of Peacemaker will debut on August 21st on HBO Max. The first season of the hit series is now available to stream exclusively on HBO Max.

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With Superman currently playing in theaters and Peacemaker Season 2 gearing up for its premiere on HBO Max in August, the DC Universe is in full swing. As more projects in the franchise release, fans will be on the lookout for character crossovers that make shared universes so much fun. Viewers already knew that Peacemaker Season 2 features members of the Justice Gang from Superman, but there could be more surprises in store. During a panel at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con to promote Peacemaker, showrunner and DC Studios co-head James Gunn discussed what fans can expect to see when the series returns later this summer.

After joking that he’s always game to make actor Nathan Fillion sport Guy Gardner’s terrible hairdo, Gunn hinted that “maybe there’s a couple other people wandering these halls that are also in Superman and also in Peacemaker Season 2.” Obviously, he stopped short of revealing who those characters might be, but it’s an intriguing tease for fans as they wait for the Season 2 premiere.

It was confirmed Peacemaker Season 2 includes characters from Superman when the first trailer was unveiled earlier this year. In a humorous sequence in the preview, Peacemaker is interviewed by Hawkgirl, Guy Gardner, and Maxwell Lord as he attempts to join the Justice Gang. Unfortunately, the breakout star of the Justice Gang, Mister Terrific, will not be returning in Peacemaker. Actor Edi Gathegi recently shared that while he has a multi-project contract with DC Studios, he hasn’t been asked to reprise the role yet.

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Peacemaker Season 1 took place in the old DC Extended Universe, but the second season mixes things up by being set in the new DCU. DC Studios just launched an official Peacemaker companion podcast co-hosted by Gunn, where he clears up any issues concerning what plot points from Season 1 are and are not DCU canon (such as the references to Aquaman in the first episode). As seen in the latest Peacemaker Season 2 trailer, the DCEU’s Chris Smith travels to the DCU and looks to replace his variant in that reality so he can live a better life.

One other Superman character we know will be in Peacemaker Season 2 is Rick Flag Sr., played by Frank Grillo. Marketing materials have confirmed he’s on the hunt for Peacemaker, seeking revenge for his fallen son (Peacemaker killed Rick Flag Jr. in The Suicide Squad). As for other non-Justice Gang characters who could show up, one possibility is Daily Planet staff members. If Peacemaker is looking to join the Justice Gang, whose headquarters are in Metropolis, it stands reason to believe someone like Jimmy Olsen, Steve Lombard, or Cat Grant could be on hand to cover whatever multiversal madness Peacemaker unleashes on the DCU.

Of course, until all of Peacemaker Season 2 is released, fans will speculate about the possibility of Superman, Lois Lane, or even Lex Luthor making a cameo. Gunn has described Peacemaker Season 2 as “the direct follow-up to Superman“ since it features so many characters from the film. If a Peacemaker from an alternate dimension is causing havoc in Metropolis, it would be logical for Superman to investigate and see how he can help with the situation. After John Cena made a memorable cameo in Superman, perhaps David Corenswet returned the favor and shot a little something for Peacemaker. It’ll be interesting to see what happens, but Season 2 should be a wild ride regardless of who shows up.

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As part of the only DCU panel at Comic-Con 2025, Warner Bros just revealed the full trailer for Peacemaker Season 2. James Gunn introduced the trailer, which made its way online immediately after screening in San Diego. The trailer is a no-holds barred affair, with major plot hints, returning characters from Gunn’s first Peacemaker season, and immediately establishes the nightmarish potential consequences of messing with the multiverse.

The trailer goes deeper into the multiverse plot, establishing that John Cena’s antihero hops universes by choice, and reveals more of Rick Flag Sr’s mission of revenge for the death of his son in The Suicide Squad. There’s also another look at the new variant of White Dragon, complete with his new suit, and features an Easter egg that ties it right back to Superman. Here’s the full trailer:

The most interesting parts of the trailer show a hellish alternate dimension as part of the new DCU multiverse where giant spider-like monsters with screaming human skulls attached stalk a fiery landscape. It’s quite a sight to behold…

There’s also another blink-and-you’ll miss it Mighty Crabjoys Easter egg, celebrating the in-universe punk band favored by Clark Kent, and obviously tying Peacemaker Season 2 back to Superman. That marks the third mention of the band after they were first referenced in Creature Commandos.

Intriguingly, the new footage of Robert Patrick’s White Dragon includes a wall mural of Auggie in his alternate blue costume. He’s flanked by the multiverse variant of his son Peacemaker, and another costumed supe. Could it be that in the alternate dimension both of Auggie’s sons survived to adulthood and became vigilantes? That would be an excellent twist on the fist season’s emotional core and would certainly take advantage of the multiverse concept. Here’s the mural…

Crucially, the trailer reiterates exactly what remains canon in Peacemaker Season 2: Chris absolutely did kill Rick Flag Jr in The Suicide Squad, which suggests at least some of that movie is still canon. Additionally, there are big hints that big parts of Peacemaker Season 1’s events are also canon, including Judomaster who is revealed to return for the new season too.

Warner Bros also showed some exclusive footage of Peacemaker Season 2 during the panel. The footage centered on Emilia Harcourt being hit on in a bar, before brutally fighting her way through a procession of drunks, and taking a heavy kick to the face.

Peacemaker Season 2 will debut on HBO Max on August 21, 2025.

The post Peacemaker Season 2 Trailer Fully Settles DCU Canon Issues & Reveals a Superman Link appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Peacemaker: Patriot. Soldier. Superhero. Knockoff? James Gunn’s Peacemaker, a spinoff of The Suicide Squad, reintroduced jingoistic mercenary Chris Smith (John Cena) after he killed Colonel Rick Flag Jr. (Joel Kinnaman) to protect U.S. government secrets on a Task Force X mission to Corto Maltese. “His father was a soldier who trained his son how to kill from the moment he was born,” Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) said of the chrome-domed, peace-cherishing marksman imprisoned in Belle Reve, only to give Peacemaker his shot at redemption when Waller’s black ops team recruited him for contract work: kill parasitic aliens and save the world from invasion as part of Project Butterfly.

It turns out that another helmeted hero inspired Peacemaker: the motorcycle-riding Steve Rogers (Reb Brown) from the 1979 made-for-TV movie Captain America.

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“I think it was during The Suicide Squad that I first said something to [producer] Peter Safran like, ‘Remember that old Captain America TV show from the ‘70s? It would be cool if Peacemaker was in some f—ed up version of that TV show. Like this old ‘70s TV show with the Peacecycle and all this stuff,'” Gunn recalled on the first episode of Peacemaker: The Official Podcast with James Gunn. “So later on, when they asked me if I wanted to develop one of the [Suicide Squad] characters for television, they said, ‘Which character would you like to develop?'”

“And I remember Peter going, ‘It’s Peacemaker, right?'” Gunn continued. “And I was like, ‘Yes!'”

1979’s Captain America movie reimagined Marvel’s star-spangled superhero as Steve Rogers, motorcycle racer and motocross expert, whose father was nicknamed “Captain America.” Steve’s late father developed and perfected the “ultimate steroid” FLAG — “Full Latent Ability Gain” — a super hormone that transformed the former Marine into the wing-headed avenger. Brown’s Captain America wielded a transparent shield and rode the red, white, and blue motorcycle he called the Capcycle.

Gunn, who serves as co-chairman and co-CEO of DC Studios with Safran, hosts HBO Max’s Peacemaker podcast with series co-stars Jennifer Holland and Steve Agee.

In Peacemaker season 2, Cena’s Christopher Smith and the 11th Street Kids — handler Emilia Harcourt (Holland), tech and tactics expert John Economos (Agee), recent recruit Leota Adebayo (Danielle Brooks), and costumed killer Vigilante (Freddie Stroma) — return just as “Peacemaker discovers an alternate world where life is everything he wishes it could be,” per the logline. “But this discovery also forces him to face his traumatic past and take the future into his own hands.”

Peacemaker returns with the season 2 premiere August 21 on HBO Max.

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James Wan’s Aquaman isn’t just the highest-grossing film in the DC Extended Universe franchise, it’s also the highest-grossing DC Comics adaptation of all time, bringing in $1.15 billion at the worldwide box office. However, that level of success doesn’t mean the film is being carried over into the canon of the new DC Universe continuity overseen by James Gunn and Peter Safran. On the first episode of the podcast Peacemaker: The Official Podcast with James Gunn, Gunn cleared up what is and isn’t DCU canon in Peacemaker Season 1. Early in the series’ first episode, Peacemaker and hospital janitor Jamil have a rather humorous conversation about Aquaman. This is the only part of the episode that isn’t DCU canon.

“Is Aquaman canon? We don’t know, but I don’t think Aquaman is canon,” Gunn said. “It’s unlikely that Aquaman is a famous hero in the DCU as Superman and Peacemaker Season 2 is happening.” At the time of this writing, the YouTube video of the podcast has been set to private and is unavailable.

Gunn’s The Suicide Squad and the first season of Peacemaker are part of the DCEU, but Peacemaker Season 2 is in the DCU. Because of that distinction, Gunn is making an effort to resolve any questions fans might have. He’s already confirmed that Black Adam and Shazam! Fury of the Gods, two DCEU films that featured Peacemaker characters Emilia Harcourt and John Economos, are not DCU canon. Peacemaker: The Official Podcast is kicking off with a full rewatch of Season 1, giving Gunn an outlet to clear up any issues.

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James Gunn’s Upcoming DCU Crossover Event Mystery Is Perfectly Explained by This Huge Theory

Though metahumans have been active in the DCU for 300 years before the events of Superman, fans are going to have to wait a bit to see some prominent Justice League members in the shared universe. When outlining his plans for the DCU’s future, Gunn suggested it’ll be a couple of years at least before the Flash and Aquaman appear. Both of those characters were key parts of the DCEU and headlined solo films in 2023.

The DCU was an opportunity to wipe the slate clean and start over after the DCEU’s uneven tenure. With that in mind, it isn’t surprising to hear Aquaman isn’t considered canon in the new continuity. If that film was carried over, it would have raised even more questions — such as why Jason Momoa’s Arthur Curry was integrated while other DCEU heroes were not. Gal Gadot is not expected to return for the DCU’s first Wonder Woman movie, a new actor will play Batman in The Brave and the Bold, and David Corenswet is established as Superman. In terms of the big picture, it’s simply easier to hit the reset button and start from scratch. Plus, Momoa is now playing cosmic bounty hunter Lobo in the DCU’s Supergirl movie.

While the first Aquaman was a smash hit, the sequel, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, grossed only $440.2 million against a budget in the range of $200-215 million. Those diminished returns (and a worse critical reception) may have also contributed to the decision to not make Aquaman canon. There have been instances of pre-existing film series being carried over into new continuities; the Deadpool franchise started as a self-contained entity at 20th Century Fox and was later worked into the Marvel Cinematic Universe with Deadpool & Wolverine after Disney acquired Fox. The difference there is that the Deadpool movies were well-received, so audiences were fully onboard with that version of the character. In the case of Aquaman, rebooting it after a handful of years is the better way to go.

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James Gunn has teased a mysterious major event being set up in the DC Universe, and a new theory presents the perfect DC Comics storyline that can be told after Superman and Peacemaker Season 2. James Gunn and Peter Safran’s rebooted DCU has hit the ground running with Superman’s release in July 2025, marking the first live-action project in the new franchise after the animated Creature Commandos series hit HBO Max in 2024. With several upcoming projects getting ready to expand the franchise further, the question remains as to what will bring the DCU’s new characters together.

During a recent conversation with Screen Rant, Gunn teased a major event that will see the projects of the DCU’s Chapter 1, titled “Gods and Monsters,” converge. While he noted that “it’s not what anyone thinks,” @BobbensArtsDen suggests that, after Superman and trailers for Peacemaker Season 2, the DCU could be heading towards an adaptation of DC Comics’ Earth-Three. This would be a brilliant crossover event for the live-action DCU, and the debuts of Ultraman and a Peacemaker doppelgänger could hint at this story’s development.

First seen in 1964’s Justice League of America #29, introduced by Gardner Fox and Mike Sekowsky, Earth-Three is an alternate world that acts as a mirror image of the primary DC continuity, but is inhabited by supervillain versions of DC’s most iconic heroes. Crucially, Lex Luthor, played by Nicholas Hoult in Superman, is Earth-Three’s only superhero in a world occupied by villains – two of which might have already been seen in the live-action DCU, laying the foundations for Earth-Three’s debut and possible culmination in a Crisis on Infinite Earths adaptation.

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David Corenswet not only played Clark Kent’s Superman in the eponymous 2025 movie, but was also revealed to be the man beneath the Ultraman mask. Luthor had taken some of Superman’s hair and made a clone that lacked intelligence but was stronger and more controllable. Similarly, in Peacemaker Season 2, John Cena’s Christopher Smith will be running into his doppelgänger, who emerges from the Quantum Unfolding Chamber, which could tease more villainous variations on DC’s heroes in more upcoming projects.

Adapting Earth-Three into live-action could bring the characters comprising the Crime Syndicate of America, malevolent counterparts to the Justice League, into the DCU. Ultraman is a member of this team in DC Comics, so Superman might have already laid the foundations for this team’s introduction, especially if the likes of Superwoman, Johnny Quick, Atomica, and Sea King follow suit in upcoming projects. Supergirl, Lanterns, Paradise Lost, The Brave and the Bold, and more can all debut villainous versions of DC’s heroes, too, so James Gunn’s mysterious major DCU event could easily be a calamity on Earth-Three.

Do you want to see Earth-Three explored in the DCU? Let us know in the comments!

The post James Gunn’s Upcoming DCU Crossover Event Mystery Is Perfectly Explained by This Huge Theory appeared first on ComicBook.com.

The first season of Peacemaker took place in the now-defunct DC Extended Universe franchise. The show’s second season is set in the new DC Universe continuity James Gunn and Peter Safran are spearheading at DC Studios. Viewers who are confused by this development may want to tune into the freshly announced Peacemaker: The Official Podcast with James Gunn, a companion podcast series that will provide deep dives and insight into the show. HBO Max unveiled a trailer for the podcast, which kicks off on Thursday, July 24th as Gunn and Co. begin a rewatch of Peacemaker Season 1. New episodes of the podcast will release on Mondays and Thursdays.

As Peacemaker Season 2 starts its run on HBO Max in August, the podcast will shift to running weekly companion episodes after each new Peacemaker episode airs. In the trailer, Gunn promises that “we’re gonna tell you about all the drama that happened while we were making the show and “what’s canon and what’s not in the DCU.” Check out the promo video in the space below:

Peacemaker Season 2 premieres on August 21st, serving as the “direct follow-up” to Gunn’s Superman movie that’s currently performing very well at the box office. As part of the promotional campaign to build hype for the 11th Street Kids’ return, DC Studios will host a Peacemaker Season 2 panel at San Diego Comic-Con this week. Peacemaker is reportedly the only DC Studios project going to Hall H.

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In marketing materials, HBO Max has shed some light on how Peacemaker will handle the different continuities. A trailer released earlier this month depicted Peacemaker and Eagly traveling through an interdimensional portal and arriving in the DCU. It seems as if a key part of the Peacemaker Season 2 story will be the DCEU Peacemaker hatching a scheme to replace his variant in the DCU.

Gunn has previously said that “almost all” of Peacemaker Season 1 is canon in the DCU. The most notable exception is the Justice League cameo that took place in the finale, where the DCEU versions of the heroes showed up much too late to help with the situation. It’ll be interesting to see how Peacemaker Season 2 handles this discrepancy, but it’s great to see that Gunn himself will be explaining things for the fans. This will make Peacemaker‘s DCU canon status easy for everyone to understand. In the past, Gunn has stated one of his goals with DC Studios is to make sure it doesn’t feel like homework to follow things, so he likely had a simple solution in mind for Peacemaker Season 2 that’s direct and to the point. Still, for anyone unclear on where things stand or fans who have more questions, the podcast should be a great resource.

Even for those who feel as if they have a solid grasp on DCU canon, Peacemaker: The Official Podcast will be a valuable listen. Gunn has teased that there is a central throughline character in the franchise, someone who’s unexpected. He said those who watch Peacemaker Season 2 will have a better idea about where things are going as the DCU makes its way through the Gods and Monsters arc. Getting additional insight from the cast and crew into Peacemaker‘s larger DCU connections will only make watching the show that much more enjoyable.

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James Gunn’s Superman has kicked off the DCU, and both it and the return of John Cena’s Peacemaker in the upcoming Peacemaker Season 2 might have a different place in the DCU’s timeline than many fans were expecting. Cena’s Peacemaker first appeared in Gunn’s 2021 DCEU movie The Suicide Squad, before headlining his own eponymous series on HBO Max, with the first season arriving in 2022. Cena’s Christopher Smith a.k.a. Peacemaker makes a cameo in Superman, and while his is a quick appearance, it might say more about Peacemaker Season 2 and the DCU than it seems to at face value.

As a series originating from the DCEU, Peacemaker Season 2 will serve as a bridge of sorts into the DCU, though the details on the two in terms of continuity and characters featured in each remain unclear. With that said, Peacemaker’s appearance in Superman harkens back to his DCEU role in one key way, which might be telling about how the early entries of the DCU are going to unfold.

Peacemaker in Superman Resembles the DCEU Version of the Character

Peacemaker’s cameo in Superman consists of a brief news interview, with John Cena’s Christopher Smith chiding the Man of Steel in typically macho terms. Peacemaker’s appearance also features Cena in full costume in the interview, and despite its brevity, the cameo itself is telling due to the specific design of Cena’s Peacemaker suit. The big takeaway, in that regard, is that the suit is the same design as Peacemaker’s suit seen in The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker Season 1.

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What makes that potentially crucial and telling about the timeline of the DCU’s first couple of movies and shows is that the design differs greatly from the suit worn by the alternate (and presumably DCU-based) Peacemaker seen in the trailer for Peacemaker Season 2. The helmet of the alternate Peacemaker is more compact and far less reflective than Cena’s initial version of the character, while the shirt includes both a darker shade of red and a different eagle insignia on the chest. That could be crucial for determining the place of Peacemaker Season 2 in the DCU, especially when coupled with certain known details about the show’s second season.

Peacemaker Season 2 Is Playing With the Multiverse (& Includes a Very Different Peacemaker)

Peacemaker Season 2 is shaping up to a be a critical juncture point for the DCU, and a lot of that has to do with its direct relationship with the preceding DCEU and Peacemaker’s cinematic origins therein. Peacemaker Season 2’s aforementioned trailer already teased multiverse elements with Christopher Smith meeting a doppelganger of his under unexplained circumstances. Moreover, James Gunn has also stated that Season 2 will explain the continuity relationship between the DCEU and DCU and elements being traded between the two, including the Justice League’s cameo in Season 1 only being canon to the first season.

Further details about Peacemaker Season 2 have also leaked through snippets of a theatrical teaser played before screenings of Superman, which further tease the doorways of DC’s multiverse as a major element of the show. This is especially noticeable in the teaser, mentioning that “there’s another dimension that’s exactly the same as ours”, with Peacemaker himself commenting, “but it’s better!” This is a pretty clear reference to alternate realities as part of the fabric of DC in comics, movies, and television, and paired with Peacemaker’s cameo in Superman, this could point to other possibilities for the show’s second season and the DCU.

Peacemaker’s Superman Cameo Could Indicate a Lot About the DCU’s Introductory Timeline

It’s become quite clear that Peacemaker Season 2 will be a very multiverse-heavy comedic adventure for the silver-helmeted anti-hero, but its timeframe in relation to Superman might be different from what many had initially expected. The fact that Peacemaker is wearing the DCEU version of his suit in his Superman cameo indicates that he is the same version of the character who had previously been seen in The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker Season 1. That lends credence to the growing fan theory of Cena’s DCEU Peacemaker jumping from one universe to another and swapping places with his DCU counterpart.

In turn, Peacemaker’s Superman cameo also hints at the second season of his show taking place either entirely or partially before the events of Superman. This would provide ample time for Cena’s DCEU Peacemaker to make the switch (and possible assassination) of his DCU doppelganger while retaining his original suit in his new home world. With Gunn placing further emphasis on Peacemaker Season 2 as revealing a great deal about the DCU’s future direction (including a major DC character cameo), it seems likely that the series, along with Peacemaker’s Superman came,o could end up shining a lot more light on the direction of the franchise and Peacemaker’s role in it.

Superman is now playing in theaters, and Peacemaker season two will debut on HBO Max on August 21st.

The post Superman Might’ve Revealed Something Crucial About Peacemaker Season 2 appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Superman is now out in theaters and kicking the DCU into another gear, and the confirmed pieces of DC’s upcoming slate will look to build upon that success in a variety of different ways. The upcoming projects include Supergirl, Lanterns, and Clayface, which are all poised to make a big impression on the big screen in the coming years. All of those and more were part of the discussion between Josh Horowitz and Superman director James Gunn, but Gunn focused on one particular project that is actually a direct follow-up to Superman.

On the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Horowitz and Gunn were discussing several projects and their statuses, and after Supergirl was revealed to be completely filmed, Gunn brought up the other project that will be directly connected to what happened in Superman. It might surprise you to learn that the project in question is in fact Peacemaker season 2, and it will include a host of returning characters from Superman’s big debut.

“Don’t leave out Peacemaker 2,” Gunn said. “Peacemaker 2 is a direct follow-up to Superman. You know, we have so many characters from, Rick Flag is in it. Hawkgirl, Maxwell Lord, you know Guy Gardner, so it’s the direct follow-up to Superman, but very R-Rated.”

Fans have already seen glimpses of Guy Gardner and Hawkgirl’s appearances in the show, and now we know there are a few other appearances to look forward to, including one that Gunn has previously teased towards the end of the season. If that ends up being Superman like some are theorizing, it would solidify that direct follow-up connection even more, and would make Superman and Peacemaker quite the one-two punch.

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What We Know So Far

While there are still a number of details being kept under wraps for Peacemaker season 2, we do have some crucial pieces of information. In a previous interview, Gunn revealed that Peacemaker will pick up a few years after season 1 ends, and though Peacemaker did manage to save the world, it hasn’t exactly rocketed him to superstar status in the superhero world.

“We come into season 2 with Peacemaker knowing that he saved the world from the Butterflies,” Gunn told EW. “He thinks he’s a big star now, and he should be a real superhero. And we see at the very beginning of episode 1 that he’s meeting with the group of superheroes from Superman, and he’s basically interviewing for membership in the group. But they just mock him the entire time, so he’s not taken seriously.”

“He’s still considered a punchline among all of the other metahumans, so he’s starting the season in a bad place,” Gunn said. “As are all of our heroes, all of the 11th Street kids — well, everybody but Vigilante [Freddie Stroma], who just always seems to be okay with everything.”

As for what took so long for season 2 to finally become a reality, Gunn had to push it back a bit so he could get Superman off the ground. “Once I was done with Peacemaker, I had to do Guardians 3, and then when I was about ready to jump [back] into Peacemaker, I got hired to be the head of DC. As soon as I got that job, I made a couple of calls, and the first one was to [Marvel’s] Kevin Feige telling him that I’m taking the [job as] head of DC. The second one was to John Cena, and I said, I’m getting this gig, and I still want to do Peacemaker, but it’s going to have to wait. We’re going to have to get Superman working first,” Gunn said.

“As soon as I was done writing Superman, I was able to write season 2 of Peacemaker,” Gunn said. “I know it seems like a long time for other people, but for me it all seems awful short because there was so many things I did in between.”

Are you excited for Peacemaker season 2? Let us know in the comments, and you can talk all things DC and TV with me on Bluesky @knightofoa!

The post James Gunn Reveals the “Direct Follow-Up” to Superman (& It’s Coming Soon) appeared first on ComicBook.com.

You would think that James Gunn making his Superman movie the launchpad for a whole new DC Universe implies that the Man of Steel is the center of that franchise, but you would be wrong. In a new interview, Gunn actually teases that the “main character” of the DCU will be someone other than Superman, and not a character that most fans would guess. Of course, Gunn also couldn’t resist piercing the veil of secrecy with a tease about just who is the centerpiece of the DCU. See if you can decipher that for yourself.

Screen Rant’s Ash Crossan sat down with James Gunn for an interview about Superman and the future of the DCU, She asked about a popular fan theory that Krypto the super-dog’s appearance in Superman (and the ending establishing his connection to the forthcoming Supergirl movie) is actually the start of an arc that will have Krypto serving as the connective thread between DCU films – like Sam Jackson’s Nick Fury was to the Marvel Cinematic Universe early on. While Gunn debunked that idea, he did toss out the teaser that there is an unexpected character who will emerge as the connective focal point of the franchise: “Yeah. I don’t think it’s Krypto’s story. I think… I do know whose story it is. And it probably isn’t anyone anyone would ever expect.”

Gunn went on to put a finer point on the matter, confirming that there is a “throughline” to the DCU’s first arc, “Gods and Monsters”, and that “Yeah,” the character who is on that throughline is someone we’ve met already. He also confirmed that this throughline is leading to a major franchise event, “And it’s not what anyone thinks. It’s not what anyone would guess. But I think that if people watch the next season of Peacemaker, they’ll see where a lot of these things are going, and have a little bit more of a sense of maybe what can happen.”

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The most recent trailer for Peacemaker Season 2 has confirmed that John Cena’s Christopher Smith/Peacemaker, will be taking his own portal trip, hopping from the old DCEU franchise into this new DCU reality. We have to watch the sophomore season to see if Peacemaker pulls off his plan to infiltrate the DCU and possibly replace his own variant. If he does, it would set up an interesting interdimensional conflict that would pit the likes the DCEU’s Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) against DCU factions like General Rick Flagg Sr. (Frank Grillo), who has already appeared in the first two DCU projects (the Creature Commandos animated series and Superman), and probably won’t take kindly to finding out he had a son who was murdered in that other universe. That already makes Peacemaker, Flag Sr. and even the DCU Rick Flag Jr. (Joel Kinnaman?) possible candidates to be the main focal point for the this “Gods and Monsters” arc.

Then there’s the director’s brother, Sean Gunn, who has already appeared as DCEU and DCU versions of animalistic character Weasel (in The Suicide Squad and Creature Commandos); Sean has also appeared as the DCU’s Maxwell Lord in Superman, and will join some of his “Justice Gang” heroes in Peacemaker Season 2. In comics, Lord is definitely the type of villain who sometimes acts as a mastermind schemer pulling many strings – the DCU could follow suit.

Hell, maybe its Eagly.

For now, Superman is playing in theaters and Peacemaker Season 2 is set to premiere on HBO Max on August 21st.

The post James Gunn Teases the DCU’s Main Character Isn’t Who Fans Think (& Offers a Hint) appeared first on ComicBook.com.

It feels like comic book projects are only as good as their villains. Even if the hero has a great arc that sees them learn from their mistakes and become a better person, a lackluster opponent can derail the whole thing. Take X-Men: Apocalypse, for example. Despite great individual moments for characters like Magneto and Jean Grey, the most memorable part of the movie is the titular villain, who is one-note and has generic motivations. James Gunn wants to avoid those kinds of problems in the DC Universe, and he gets off on the right foot with Superman‘s bad guy, Lex Luthor.

Lex wastes no time proving how much he hates the Man of Steel, sending the Hammer of Boravia after him at the start of Superman. But that’s only the beginning of his plan, as he has several other tricks up his sleeve that are meant to distract his opponent from his real goal. Lex even goes as far as to mess with a dangerous power that a villain in the DC Extended Universe knows a thing or two about that could very well end the world.

Lex Luthor Has Tunnel Vision When It Comes to Superman

Things are looking up for Lex after he releases the message from Superman’s Kryptonian parents. They sent him to Earth to conquer it, and while he doesn’t have it in him to complete their mission, the world thinks he does because of Lex’s smear campaign. Without another choice, Superman turns himself over to the United States government, which is more than happy to delegate the process to Lex. The titular hero soon finds himself in a prison in a pocket universe, where Lex keeps all of the people who dare to question him. All hope looks lost until Metamorpho decides to help Superman escape. Once everyone is free, the only thing left for Superman to do is stop Lex from starting a war in Jarhanpur. However, the villain takes the gloves off by allowing his pocket universe to tear a hole in Metropolis.

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The city and everyone still in it are in danger, and some of Lex’s lackeys try to call off the whole thing. Unfortunately, Lex is too far gone, and he’s willing to let the entire world die if it means Superman goes with it. He doesn’t get his wish, though, because Superman, Mister Terrific, and Krypto are able to defeat his forces and get to the console in time to shut down the portal. Superman makes it clear that pocket universes are not something to mess with, and yet another DC villain has access to their fair share.

Peacemaker’s Dad Uses Pocket Universes for Storage

After nearly dying in Corto Maltese, Christopher Smith returns home in Peacemaker Season 1. He runs into his father, Auggie, who’s watching after his pet eagle for him, and the two catch up. Chris doesn’t get along with his dad, as the two don’t see eye to eye on how to play hero. However, he can’t just cut Auggie out of his life because he’s a tech whiz who creates all of his helmets. Auggie doesn’t just set up shop in a garage, though. No, he chooses to keep his inventions in what he calls a “Quantum Unfolding Storage Area,” which sits in a pocket dimension. The portal to the location is in Auggie’s house, and when Chris comes to get more helmets, he discovers his father’s White Dragon suit. Being a racist is bad on its own, but as Superman reveals, there is another layer to Auggie’s evil.

Lex’s lackeys mention again and again how dangerous it is to mess around with pocket universes. Being the boss, Lex isn’t about to listen to people beneath him. Of course, they turn out to be right, and they all almost die because of Lex’s mistakes. Well, Auggie plays with the same fire, and while it doesn’t get him in the end, it’s about to spread to his son, who makes a brief cameo in Superman. The trailer for Peacemaker Season 2 confirms that Chris is going to walk through one of his dad’s portals and meet another version of himself, who probably isn’t going to want to play nice.

Superman is in theaters now.

Did you notice the connection between White Dragon and Lex Luthor in Superman? How do you think pocket universes will affect Peacemaker Season 2? Let us know in the comments below!

The post Superman Makes the DCEU’s Worst Villain Even Worse appeared first on ComicBook.com.

DC Studios has released a new Peacemaker Season 2 trailer, which fans can find playing before James Gunn’s Superman in certain markets. More than just a mere promotional tool, the new preview for Peacemaker Season 2 actually drops a big (and much-needed) reveal on DC Universe fans: How John Cena’s Peacemaker and his team still even exist within the new DCU. The first Peacemaker Season 2 trailers hinted at it, but this latest makes it the entire centerpiece of the story: Peacemaker is hopping dimensions, and he’s never looking back!

Peacemaker Season 2 Trailer 2 Explained

You can check out the new spot – HERE (for now).

The footage from the Peacemaker Season 2 trailer shown in theaters starts with Christopher Smith/Peacemaker (John Cena) and his best pal Eagly the eagle accessing his father Auggie/White Dragon’s room of interdimensional portals. The pair ends up in the new DCU, a reality that Peacemaker quickly recognizes as brighter and more hopeful than his own – including a variant life in which he seems to be a much more respected figure.

Smith seems to quickly hatch a plan to surveil this new reality with help from his buddy, Vigilante (Freddie Stroma), and the endgame plan seems clear, based on the previous trailer: For Peacemaker to cross over permanently and replace his own variant in the DCU (with Vigilante and others possibly scheming to do the same). There’s plenty of footage in the sizzle reel that suggests that A) Peacemaker playing in two realities will get complicated, as he tries to maintain his life in the old DCEU as normal, while still going on infiltration “missions” in the DCU, as he tries to track down and assassinate his target. And B) The plan will go sideways, as we see hints of characters from both realities battling Peacemaker and co.

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Weirdly enough, Peacemaker Season 2 now seems positioned as a crucial bridge piece for the franchise: a final epilogue for the DCEU before helping Superman launch the new era of the DCU. That said, Gunn is smart to make the show “crucial” only for the diehard fans who get hung up on issues of franchise universe continuity; for the general public, Superman will be enough of an introduction to the DCU, without worrying about whether or not the Peacemaker the saw in Gunn’s film is the same one Cena is playing on TV.

Peacemaker Season 2 will premiere on HBO Max on August 21st.

The post New Peacemaker Trailer Finally Explains DCU Canon Issues by Confirming a Major Theory appeared first on ComicBook.com.

WARNING: There are spoilers for Superman (2025) ahead! The DC Universe hit the big screen faster than a speeding bullet this weekend, and a big franchise is already taking shape right before our eyes. Superman is the first movie in the new DCU continuity, and it managed to plant a lot of seeds without feeling like an exposition-dump. The movie introduced characters and settings, established relationship dynamics, and even left a few plot threads dangling without feeling unsatisfying or incomplete. It’s especially impressive as the DCU is under a lot of pressure to “catch up” with the Marvel Cinematic Universe, without feeling rushed or contrived.

Superman is jam-packed with superheroes — to the point that some fans felt nervous looking at the cast list before its release — yet the story doesn’t feel over-crowded. Instead, writer, director, and studio co-executive James Gunn established three centuries of DCU history in a few title cards at the beginning of the movie. Right off the bat, this allows for greater immersion and suspension of disbelief for the audience, while also allowing the story to completely skip the familiar origin stories we’ve all seen before.

The pre-existing history also made it easier to set up future DCU stories in a way that feels natural and organic. Superman is in theaters now. The DCU’s next release is Peacemaker Season 2, premiering on August 21st on HBO Max. Read on for a look at the other DCU projects this movie hinted at.

Supergirl

The DCU won’t be back in theaters until June 26, 2026 when Supergirl premieres. It’s no surprise that Superman teed up the next movie, and while it probably seems the most out of place, it still doesn’t feel all that contrived — probably because it’s funny and short.

Superman’s disdain for the Kryptonian dog, Krypto, feels oddly out of character throughout his movie. Eventually, he mentions that Krypto is not even his dog — he’s just “fostering” him for a time. Finally, in the end, Supergirl (Milly Alcock) stumbles drunkenly into the Fortress of Solitude, demanding, “Where’s my dog?!” This provides an opening for Superman to explain that his cousin likes to party, but she needs to travel to other solar systems to do so, since the superpowers she gains from earth’s yellow sun also make her immune to intoxicants.

The brilliance of this movie is that Supergirl is actually characterized throughout this entire movie — not by Superman’s explanation, but by Krypto’s behavior. It wouldn’t make sense for Clark to let Krypto run around untrained, but once we see Kara’s state of mind, it all comes together. At the same time, the dog keeps Supergirl’s recklessness lighthearted and lovable.

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From what we’ve heard about Supergirl so far, the movie is about her taking a trip through space with Krypto to celebrate her 21st birthday. Along the way, she meets Ruthye Marye Knoll (Eve Ridley) and joins her on a “murderous quest for revenge.” The movie will also feature an appearance by Jason Momoa as Lobo, an alien bounty hunter. This trip was set up pretty well in the final minutes of Superman, and many fans are already wishing it was coming out sooner.

Lanterns

On the small screen, the next new title coming to the DCU is Lanterns, a live-action series about the Green Lantern Corps. Obviously, Superman introduced us to Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion), giving us a few glorious glimpses of what his ring can do and a few hilarious quotes demonstrating how it has inflated his ego. Gardner is listed as one of the main cast members of Lanterns, but he doesn’t seem to be the show’s focus. Instead, it will follow two other human Green Lanterns — Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler) and John Stewart (Aaron Pierre).

From what we’ve hard so far, Lanterns will begin with Jordan and Stewart investigating a murder in Nebraska, which turns out to be bigger than they expected. We know that Jordan is approaching his retirement from the Green Lantern Corps, and Stewart is a new recruit expected to replace him. It’s unclear where Gardner fits into that dynamic. Many fans are expecting this series to spend a lot of time off earth, and to have higher stakes than one murder in the midwest — Green Lanterns are supposed to patrol a massive sector of their galaxy. So much of this story is still a mystery that it’s hard to guess what’s coming.

One other character may have helped set up Lanterns in a very indirect way — Isabela Merced plays Kendra Saunders, a.k.a. Hawkgirl in Superman. She fought alongside Gardner in the “Justice Gang,” so she’s familiar with his powers. In the animated series Justice League and Justice League Unlimited, there was a prominent romance between Hawkgirl and John Stewart. Merced has said she would love to see this romance carry over to the DCU versions of these characters, so there’s always a chance she’ll turn up in Lanterns, or interact with Stewart down the line.

The Authority

The Authority was one of the first DCU projects announced, but sadly, it has been slow to develop, and it still has no release date or even production schedule. As recently as February, Gunn said that The Authority script has been re-written many times, and it’s not finished yet. Gunn will not allow work to begin on any DCU projects until the scripts are completely finished, he said.

That being said, Superman sets up The Authority quite a bit through the antagonist Angela Spica, a.k.a. “The Engineer,” played by María Gabriela de Faría. The character’s presence in this movie is enough to get the ball rolling on The Authority, but now that it’s out, we can see how the story characterized Angela, and speculate about the kind of team-up story she might become embroiled in.

The Angela we meet in Superman is violent and ruthless, but she’s not completely unsympathetic. She’s a pawn for Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult), who funded and apparently helped create the nanobot technology that gives Angela her shapeshifting superpowers. Like Lex, all of Angela’s efforts have been aimed at toppling Superman, but she is willing to sacrifice much more for the cause — including her body, and perhaps her life. Her hateful fear and mistrust of Superman certainly aren’t admirable, but they’re more comprehensible than Luthor’s feelings, especially as they don’t seem to be tied up in delusions of grandeur like his are.

The Authority is about a team of superpowered people bent on changing the world for the better by any means necessary. Unlike superheroes, they don’t scruple to take lives or engage in sabotage and trickery. It’s not an unfamiliar set-up these days, as fans of The Boys, Watchmen, and Invincible can attest, but it will be interesting to see it in the context of the DCU. Sadly, there’s no hint of when it might be ready.

Peacemaker Season 2

Peacemaker Season 2 is the DCU’s next confirmed release, and Gunn managed to plug the show in Superman without being too obvious about it. We see Christopher Smith (John Cena) on a talk show airing in Metropolis, giving his “expert opinion” on Superman, and on other superheroes in general. He speculates that most costumed heroes are “jealous” because they’re “not as jacked as me.” It doesn’t tell us much about the story to come, but it reminds us that Peacemaker is set in the same world as Superman, and that the show is coming back soon.

Peacemaker has an odd place within the DCU, as Season 1 of the show is not considered entirely canon. Season 2 is considered a “soft reboot,” determining which elements will carry on in the DCU and which will be discarded. However, the show itself is a spinoff of The Suicide Squad (2021), so the ripple effects here could be considerable. Peacemaker Season 2 premieres on August 21st on HBO Max.

Waller and Creature Commandos Season 2

Peacemaker, Creature Commandos, and the upcoming live-action spinoff Waller all share a lot of characters and story elements in common, so by teasing one of them, Superman really helped to set them all up. Aside from Smith’s appearance on TV, the biggest crossover here was the appearance of Rick Flag Sr. (Frank Grillo), who appeared in Creature Commandos and will appear in Peacemaker as well. Flag is now the head of the shady government organization A.R.G.U.S., taking over Waller’s job, so it’s safe to say the two will have a strained relationship whenever they meet again.

It’s also worth noting that at the end of Superman, Lex Luthor is carted off to Belle Reve Prison — the same facility where A.R.G.U.S. holds its dangerous metahuman prisoners, and forms teams like Task Force M. Placing Luthor there may not be their best idea, and it may prove to be a problem down the line. So far, Hoult has not been added to the casts of any of these TV shows, but holding his appearance back for a surprise could make it all the more shocking.

Justice League

Finally, Gunn has said that he has a long-term plan to assemble a Justice League in the DCU, likely building up to it similarly to how the MCU built up to its first Avengers crossover. The eventual Justice League movie has hardly been mentioned and doesn’t seem to be a high priority for the DCU right now, but it’s still clear to see how Superman is paving the way for it. This movie introduces us to the Justice Gang, a team of heroes that receives corporate support from Maxwell Lord (Sean Gunn) and enjoys the wealth and fame that comes with it.

The Justice Gang is contrasted with Superman throughout the movie — they don’t care nearly as much to avoid collateral damage as he does, and they’re willing to play along with publicity stunts and more than he is. They also keep a headquarters in the Hall of Justice — a landmark typically reserved for the Justice League in DC Comics. It seems safe to say that when the Justice League comes together properly, this contrast will continue, and they’ll be distinguished for their integrity in a world that is already familiar with jaded superheroes.

There are even more subtle hints of DC lore in Superman, which may or may not come back around in later DCU titles. Fans can comb through them now, as Superman is playing in theaters around the world. The DCU’s next release is Peacemaker Season 2, premiering on August 21st on HBO Max, while its next movie is Supergirl, coming to theaters on June 26, 2026.

The post All 6 DCU Projects Set Up By Superman appeared first on ComicBook.com.

The architecture of a modern cinematic universe is built as much on television as it is in theaters, and DC Studios is fully embracing that strategy. Under the leadership of James Gunn and Peter Safran, a full slate of live-action and animated series for HBO Max will serve as essential pillars for the new DC Universe. These shows are integral parts of the primary “Chapter 1: Gods and Monsters” narrative, designed to weave directly into the films and expand the world in ways a movie cannot. The upcoming television series will explore every corner of the new DCU, from cosmic mysteries and grounded political thrillers to high-concept comedies, giving characters room to breathe, develop complex mythologies, and tell stories that are vital to the overarching saga that begins with Superman.

This list will focus exclusively on these core DCU television projects, which are distinct from the “Elseworlds” titles like the completed The Penguin and ongoing shows such as My Adventures with Superman and Batman: Caped Crusader, as well as future projects like Starfire and DC Super Powers that exist in separate continuities. Here are all the DCU TV shows officially slated to be released after Superman.

1) Peacemaker Season 2

The second season of Peacemaker continues the story of Christopher Smith (John Cena), with its events taking place after the Superman film. Set to premiere in August August 21, 2025, the new season finds the titular anti-hero in a radically different situation following a multi-year time jump. With Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) deposed, ARGUS is now led by Rick Flag Sr. (Frank Grillo), who uses the agency’s resources to hunt down Peacemaker in retaliation for the death of his son.

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The second season of Peacemaker will also heavily embrace science fiction with a device called the Quantum Unfolding Chamber, which allows for travel to alternate realities. This storyline introduces a new version of Peacemaker’s villainous father, the White Dragon (Robert Patrick), in different armor and a heroic variant of Peacemaker who fights alongside his living brother. This blend of a grounded revenge plot and wild multiversal adventures promises to significantly expand the lore of the DCU.

2) Lanterns

A cornerstone of “Chapter 1,” Lanterns is a major live-action series for HBO Max that will focus on two of the Green Lantern Corps’ most famous members. The show is described as a large-scale, “terrestrial-based” mystery following veteran Lantern Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler) and rookie John Stewart (Aaron Pierre) as they uncover a dark conspiracy. Their investigation is a crucial event with major repercussions for the entire DCU, connecting directly to the main storyline of the films and other series.

Lanterns is written by acclaimed comic book writer Tom King, with Chris Mundy (Ozark) serving as showrunner. The cast also includes Nathan Fillion reprising his Superman role as Guy Gardner and Ulrich Thomsen as Sinestro. Furthermore, it has been reported that Paul Ben-Victor will play a character whose description strongly suggests he is the Red Lantern villain, Atrocitus.

3) Waller

A live-action series centered on the ruthless Amanda Waller is in active development, with Viola Davis confirmed to be reprising her iconic role. Written by Watchmen‘s Christal Henry and Doom Patrol creator Jeremy Carver, the show was announced as part of the initial “Chapter 1” slate. The series is expected to follow Waller’s story after she is removed from her position of power as head of ARGUS following the events of Peacemaker Season 1 and Creature Commandos.

Waller has faced a difficult development, with the 2023 Hollywood labor disputes forcing significant rewrites that made its original premise obsolete. Despite rumors that the show had been cancelled, Gunn personally confirmed on social media in June 2025 that Waller is still in active development. The project remains in the script development phase without a release window, but is a confirmed part of the DCU’s future.

4) Paradise Lost

Exploring the dark history and political intrigue of the Amazons, Paradise Lost is a live-action prequel series set on Themyscira long before the birth of Wonder Woman. The show is described as being thematically similar to Game of Thrones, focusing on the power struggles, betrayals, and secret histories of the immortal women on the island. The series aims to delve into the complex origins of Amazonian society, revealing the moral compromises hidden beneath the surface of their paradise.

Announced as part of the initial “Chapter 1” slate, Paradise Lost is intended to build the mythological foundation for Wonder Woman’s people before the character is officially introduced in the DCU. The series is still in the early stages of script development, with no cast or showrunner officially attached. Still, its promise of a character-driven political drama makes it one of the most unique shows on the DCU slate.

5) Booster Gold

A live-action comedy series focused on the cult-favorite hero Booster Gold is in active development at DC Studios. The show will tell the story of Mike Carter, a disgraced ex-football star from the 25th century who steals future technology and a time machine to travel to our present. His goal is to masquerade as a great superhero to achieve the fame and fortune he craves, forcing him to confront a severe case of impostor syndrome. Gunn has described the project as a pure character study of a “lovable loser.”

Gunn has confirmed that development on the project is “going pretty strong.” Booster Gold had a showrunner attached who later fell out of love with the project and moved on, but Gunn stated the studio has “pivoted” and is moving forward with someone else. The show remains in the development phase with no cast, creative team, or release window announced.

6) Blue Beetle

An animated series centered on Jaime Reyes, the Blue Beetle, is officially in development for Max. The project will continue the story of the character introduced in the 2023 live-action film of the same name. While that movie is not canon to the new DCU, Gunn has confirmed that actor Xolo Maridueña’s version of the character is the first official hero of his new universe, and Maridueña will return to voice him in the animated show. The series is expected to build on the film’s foundation, potentially exploring the end-credits scene that teased the return of Ted Kord.

Blue Beetle is being guided by director and showrunner Miguel Puga (The Casagrandes) and writer Cristian Martinez (Good Trouble). In February 2025, Maridueña stated that the series was aiming for a 2026 premiere. The decision to continue Jaime’s story in animation allows DC Studios to expand his world without the immediate constraints of a live-action production, while cherry-picking the elements of the previous movie they want to keep in the new continuity.

7) Creature Commandos Season 2

The first season of the animated series Creature Commandos, which concluded in January 2025, served as the official kickoff for the new DCU. The show, written entirely by James Gunn, introduced a black-ops team of monsters assembled by Amanda Waller and featured a voice cast of actors who will portray their characters in live-action, including Frank Grillo as Rick Flag Sr. and David Harbour as Eric Frankenstein. Due to an overwhelmingly positive reception by critics and fans, a second season of Creature Commandos was confirmed in December 2024 to continue the team’s story even before the Season 1 finale.

Gunn has confirmed he is already writing the second season, and the writers’ room is actively breaking the story. The new season will feature a new team lineup led by The Bride and including King Shark, although further details are being kept under wraps. The project has reportedly been put on a “fast track” by DC Studios,  but it does not yet have a release window.

8) Mister Miracle

An adult animated series based on the New Gods character Mister Miracle was officially announced at the Annecy Animation Festival in June 2025. The show will adapt the Eisner Award-winning comic series from writer Tom King and artist Mitch Gerads, which presented a dark take on the master escape artist, Scott Free. The story follows Scott and his wife, Big Barda, as they navigate their life on Earth while a war rages between their home worlds of New Genesis and Apokolips, with Darkseid seeking the Anti-Life Equation.

Mister Miracle is currently in production at Warner Bros. Animation. While it is the second adult animated series announced under the DC Studios banner after Creature Commandos, it is not yet confirmed if it will be part of the interconnected DCU or an Elseworlds project, although it’s likely to be part of the main continuity. No voice cast or release date has been announced yet.

Which upcoming DCU TV show are you most excited to see? Let us know in the comments.

The post All 8 DC TV Shows Releasing After Superman appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Done with Squid Game Season 3 and looking for your next great binge? Finding yourself mindlessly scrolling through streaming options but coming up blank? Whether you’re in between seasons or just in the mood for something short and unforgettable, HBO Max is home to some of the most binge-worthy TV ever made. From apocalyptic thrillers and prestige dramas to superhero satire and pirate rom-coms, this list has something for everyone. Each show below is perfect for devouring in just a few days, or stretching across a long week if you want to savor the show.

Here are 10 of the best HBO Max shows you can binge in a week or less.

1) The Last of Us

HBO Max’s The Last of Us isn’t just one of the best video game adaptations of all time, it’s been hailed as one of the most emotionally powerful series on the platform. Anchored by incredible performances from Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey, Season 1 explores love, loss, and survival in a post-apocalyptic world ravaged by an evolved infectious fungus. The attention to world-building, the devastating storytelling, and the faithful-yet-elevated game adaptation have all earned it widespread critical acclaim.

Season 2 continues the heart-wrenching journey, adapting key moments from the second game with bold creative choices and new cast additions. With each season clocking in under 10 episodes, it’s an intense but manageable binge.

And good news, Season 3 is confirmed, but it won’t be out for another two years, so you’ve got some time to get both seasons under your belt. Though sooner is always better than later. Besides, the sooner you watch it, the more time you have to forget it and watch it again by 2027.

2) Peacemaker

But if you’re planning on binging The Last of Us, it might be worth you following it up with something more lighthearted and a bit wacky, John Cena’s Peacemaker may just be the thing. Though it started as a spinoff from The Suicide Squad, it quickly carved out its own identity as one of HBO Max’s funniest and most irreverent series. James Gunn’s signature blend of humor, ultraviolence, and surprising heart shines in this tale of redemption, alien conspiracies, and awkward dance numbers.

With Season 1 being only eight episodes long and featuring standout performances (especially from Danielle Brooks and Freddie Stroma), it’s an easy show to slip into. The tone is wild, the action hits hard, and yes, that opening dance sequence is unskippable, no matter how many times you rewatch. Season 2 is officially in the can, with a release date of August this year, so time is ticking to get caught up before its return.

3) Band of Brothers

An oldie but a goodie, this iconic 10-part miniseries produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks is still one of HBO Max’s crown jewels. Based on real-life events during World War II, Band of Brothers follows Easy Company of the U.S. Army 101st Airborne Division from D-Day through the capture of Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest.The cast includes now-iconic names like Damian Lewis, Michael Fassbender, and Tom Hardy, all delivering powerhouse performances in a narrative grounded in interviews with surviving veterans.

It is gripping, emotional, and incredibly well-acted. With a single, self-contained season, this is ideal for history buffs or anyone craving a gritty, grounded war story with real emotional weight. The practical effects and raw cinematography make it as immersive today as it was at release.

4) The White Lotus

Looking for a glamorous escape with a dash of scandal and the added bonus of smugly judging the wealthy? The White Lotus delivers in spades. With luxury hotels, beautiful vistas, and biting satire, each season of this anthology series takes place at a different resort — from Hawaii to Sicily, and now Thailand — diving into class tensions, personal secrets, and the absurdity of the ultra-rich.

Each season has a different cast (with a few delicious recurring characters like Tanya, played by Jennifer Coolidge) and can be binged separately or back-to-back. You’ll find yourself laughing, cringing, theorizing, and questioning your moral compass.
The blend of comedy, mystery, and social commentary keeps you hooked until the final frame. And the best part is that each batch of episodes ends with a murder, but it’s the psychological tension — not the whodunit — that steals the show. For Jennifer Coolidge fans, this is a must watch.

5) Succession

If you missed the Succession phenomenon, now is the perfect time to binge all four seasons. This Emmy-winning powerhouse follows the toxic Roy family as they claw for control over their global media empire, Waystar Royco. Led by the merciless patriarch Logan Roy (Brian Cox), each family member jostles for power with betrayals, backstabbing, and business moves so cold they could freeze a glacier. It’s Shakespearean drama disguised as a corporate satire, with razor-sharp dialogue and unforgettable one-liners.

The performances are magnificent with standouts from the likes of Jeremy Strong, Sarah Snook, and Kieran Culkin, and the show only grows more addictive as the stakes spiral. Expect power plays, awkward boardroom tension, and some of the most hilariously uncomfortable moments ever put to screen. With the series officially wrapped, Succession is a completed story from beginning to end, making it perfect for a concentrated binge without the pain of waiting for a new season.

6) Chernobyl

Created by Craig Mazin (who you may now know for his work on The Last of Us), Chernobyl is a masterclass in tension, storytelling, and historical dramatization. This five-episode miniseries recounts the harrowing true events of the 1986 nuclear disaster in the Soviet Union — from the initial explosion to the chilling government coverups and the unsung heroes who sacrificed everything.

What sets Chernobyl apart is its visceral realism. The cinematography, sound design, and haunting score pull you into the grim, toxic atmosphere. Jared Harris, Emily Watson, and Stellan Skarsgård all deliver devastatingly good performances that ground the story in emotional truth. It’s a global horror story, a political drama, and a human tragedy all rolled into one. With a total runtime of around five hours, it’s perfect for a quick binge. And as it’s based on real events, it stands alone as a haunting, must-watch story with no sequel required.

7) The Penguin

Spinning out of the gritty world of Matt Reeves’ The Batman, The Penguin brings Oswald Cobblepot’s rise through Gotham’s criminal underworld into the spotlight. Starring Colin Farrell who is unrecognizable under Oswald’s prosthetics, the series picks up pretty much straight after the events of the 2022 film, exploring the mob world’s power vacuum left behind in the wake of Carmine Falcone’s death.

Farrell’s performance in The Batman was widely praised for adding nuance and menace to the iconic DC villain, and The Penguin gives him the space to truly take over. The series has a dark, grounded tone and plays out more as a gritty crime saga in the style of Scarface and The Sopranos than your average superhero fare. With Lauren LeFranc (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) showrunning, and Reeves producing, this is one of HBO Max’s most compelling character dramas, and one not to miss.

8) Watchmen

Damon Lindelof’s Watchmen is not a reboot or re-enactment of the 2009 movie, it’s a bold sequel to the classic comic series. Set decades after the events of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ story, this one-season wonder blends superhero deconstruction with racial justice themes and sci-fi weirdness.

The 9-episode run is dense with detail, clever writing, and some of the best performances HBO Max has put to screen. Regina King and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II are both unforgettable. No second season is planned, which makes Watchmen an ideal one-and-done binge.

9) Our Flag Means Death

Now, we have hit you pretty hard with some dark and intense series to watch, so lets calm it down. This pirate comedy-romance from creator David Jenkins and executive producer Taika Waititi took viewers by surprise with its heartfelt story and inclusive humor. Our Flag Means Death follows the real-life-inspired character of Stede Bonnet played by Rhys Darby. Though this version is very much fictionalized as we watch Bonnet become an aristocrat-turned-pirate, and his budding relationship with the infamous Blackbeard (Waititi).

It’s equal parts absurd and adorable, with slapstick moments sitting comfortably alongside beautifully sincere emotional arcs. Both seasons are under 10 episodes each and deliver a unique blend of quirky laughs and poignant emotional beats. While the show was canceled after Season 2, its fandom continues to grow, making it a beloved and easily bingeable gem.

10) Barry

Bill Hader’s Barry starts off as a dark comedy about a hitman who wants to become an actor… but quickly becomes something far more ambitious and unsettling. Across four seasons, Barry evolves into a meditation on guilt, violence, and the desperate, often futile, search for redemption. The tone oscillates masterfully between laugh-out-loud moments and soul-crushing despair, often in the same scene.

Hader, who not only stars but also directs much of the series, demonstrates an incredible eye for visual storytelling, tension, and psychological depth. The cast, including Henry Winkler and Sarah Goldberg, delivers stunning performances that only get better season by season. With just 8 episodes per season, Barry is an addictive binge that never overstays its welcome. And since the series wrapped in 2023, you can watch the entire saga unfold with no cliffhangers, no delays, just pure storytelling from start to finish.

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James Gunn has officially confirmed that a DCU projects that appears to have gone cold (at least on the news front) is still happening. The new head of DC’s screen empire has been very clear that projects will only move ahead when certain obligations are fulfilled (like a viable script), rather than too many adaptations being hastily announced to build hype. But even when things go quiet, that doesn’t mean there’s no progress or that the projects are canceled.

Gunn has now confirmed that the Waller television series is still in active development for the DC Universe, using the social media platform Threads to personally shut down persistent rumors that the project had been canceled or reworked. The Waller series was first announced as part of the initial DCU slate reveal in January 2023, with Viola Davis set to reprise her role and writers Christal Henry (Watchmen) and Jeremy Carver (Doom Patrol) attached. While details on Waller are still vague, the DC Studios co-CEO provided the first concrete update on the Viola Davis-led series in several months, reassuring fans that Amanda Waller’s story remains a part of the DCU’s future.

When a fan asked Gunn if rumors about “the Waller show being reworked into a Checkmate show” were false, Gunn offered an unambiguous one-word reply, “Yes”. To ensure there was no misunderstanding, another fan pressed for more clarity, asking, “So Waller is still in development?”, to which Gunn again replied with a simple and definitive, “Yes”. This interaction was necessary to counter the pessimistic narrative that had formed around the project, especially after Gunn himself acknowledged at a DC Studios press event in February 2025 that Waller had encountered “a couple of… setbacks, frankly”.

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Waller was originally conceived as a direct spinoff from the first season of Peacemaker, intended to explore the immediate fallout of Amanda Waller’s daughter, Leota Adebayo (Danielle Brooks), publicly exposing the existence of Task Force X. However, the 2023 Hollywood labor disputes caused a major halt in production, and the resulting delays forced significant rewrites as the new DCU timeline evolved, rendering that original premise obsolete and leaving the show’s future in limbo until this new confirmation.

Peacemaker Season 2 Establishes a New Order at ARGUS

The upcoming second season of Peacemaker, scheduled to premiere in August 2025, is set to introduce a radically different status quo for the DCU’s clandestine operations, confirming Amanda Waller has been deposed from her position of power. Taking place after a significant time jump of “a couple of years,” the new Peacemaker season will establish Rick Flag Sr. (Frank Grillo) as the new head of ARGUS. As the trailers revealed, Flag Sr. is actively using the full resources of the government agency to hunt down Christopher Smith (John Cena) to seek revenge for the death of his son, Rick Flag Jr. (Joel Kinnaman), who was killed by Peacemaker during the events of The Suicide Squad.

Beyond the conflict with ARGUS, Peacemaker Season 2 is also set to wildly expand its lore by embracing high-concept science fiction and multiversal chaos. A key element of this is the Quantum Unfolding Chamber, an apparatus that will seemingly allow the characters to access alternate realities. The first look at these other dimensions has revealed a different version of Peacemaker who sports a jetpack and an inverted dove symbol in an alternate reality where his brother, Keith, is still alive and works alongside him as an armored operative. This dimensional-hopping storyline will also introduce a new version of the White Dragon (Robert Patrick), Peacemaker’s villainous father, who is seen wearing a distinct blue suit of armor. These bizarre new elements, coupled with the introduction of other new characters like Michael Rooker’s Red St. Wild and a mysterious four-eyed gray alien, promise a season that will be both a gritty manhunt and a wildly unpredictable sci-fi adventure.

Peacemaker Season 2 premieres on HBO Max on August 21st.

What do you want to see in Amanda Waller’s solo series? Let us know in the comments.

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DC Studios co-head James Gunn has coined a characteristically irreverent title for the overarching narrative arc of John Cena’s Peacemaker, as revealed during his recent appearance at CCXP Mexico City. This new “trilogy” name underscores Gunn’s vision for Christopher Smith’s journey, encompassing his introduction in The Suicide Squad and continuing through the highly anticipated second season of the Max series Peacemaker. Alongside Peter Safran, Gunn is meticulously crafting the new DC Universe, and Peacemaker plays a significant role in these plans, with the second season of the show introducing the anti-hero into the shared universe that already counts Creature Commandos and the upcoming Superman.

“Oh, it’s part of the Tighty Whities Trilogy,” Gunn stated at the fan convention. “We have The Suicide Squad, we got Season 1, we got Season 2.” This declaration from Gunn humorously encapsulates the character arc of Christopher Smith, spanning his cinematic debut and his solo television series. The “Tighty Whities” reference is a clear nod to Peacemaker’s rather infamous and often-mocked choice of undergarments, which became a running gag and a symbol of the character’s blend of deadly earnestness and utter absurdity.

[RELATED: James Gunn Comments on DCU Batman vs. Peacemaker Fight (& John Cena Responds)]

By designating this a “trilogy,” Gunn emphasizes that these three installments form a cohesive narrative, charting Peacemaker’s evolution from a ruthless government operative to a more conflicted, albeit still deeply flawed, individual. While The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker Season 1 are soft canon in the DCU, Gunn is determined to preserve Christopher’s growth in the new universe.

Everything We Know About Peacemaker Season 2 in the New DCU

The second season of Peacemaker is set to significantly advance Christopher Smith’s story, picking up a couple of years after the tumultuous events of the first season, a time jump confirmed by James Gunn. This gap allows the world within the new DC Universe to react to Leota Adebayo’s (Danielle Brooks) public exposure of Project Butterfly and Amanda Waller’s (Viola Davis) clandestine operations, events that have already begun to ripple through other DCU projects like the animated series Creature Commandos. Gunn explained this flexible timeline as a strategic decision, informed by his experience at Marvel, designed to avoid continuity issues and allow stories to develop more organically.

In addition to Cena, the returning main cast for Season 2 includes all the 11th Street Kids: Brooks as Leota Adebayo, Freddie Stroma as Vigilante, Jennifer Holland as Emilia Harcourt, Steve Agee as John Economos. Nhut Le’s Judomaster is also set to return, but there’s no information on his character’s arc after the defeat of the Butterflies. Robert Patrick is also reprising his role as Auggie Smith, Peacemaker’s deceased and abusive father, thanks to a pocket-dimension plotline. This alternate reality will feature a different version of Peacemaker with a jetpack and an inverted dove symbol, his brother Keith alive and armored, and an alternate White Dragon in blue armor.

A significant new threat arrives in the form of Frank Grillo as Rick Flag Sr., the father of Rick Flag Jr. (Joel Kinnaman), whom Peacemaker killed in The Suicide Squad. In Season 2 of Peacemaker, Flag Sr. will be the new head of ARGUS, driven by a personal vendetta to hunt down Christopher Smith. The ensemble is further expanded by Michael Rooker as Red St. Wild, described as the “world’s foremost eagle hunter” and a specific antagonist for Peacemaker’s beloved sidekick, Eagly. 

Peacemaker Season 2 is scheduled to premiere on Thursday, August 21st, on HBO Max.

What are you most looking forward to in James Gunn’s “Tighty Whities Trilogy” conclusion with Peacemaker Season 2? Let us know in the comments!

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John Cena‘s Peacemaker already fired shots at the DC Universe’s Batman over the Dark Knight’s “coterie of supervillains” like Joker and the Riddler. In the James Gunn-scripted season 1 episode “The Choad Less Traveled,” peace-keeping vigilante Christopher Smith almost came to blows with a neighbor who suggested that Peacemaker isn’t a superhero like Batman because he lacks a rogue’s gallery. (Peacemaker’s villains are “six feet under,” the anti-hero countered.) After some more off-color remarks about the “candy-ass” caped crusader’s no-kill rule, the neighbor replied, “With an attitude like that, you’re definitely a supervillain.”

With Peacemaker season 2 taking place in the new DCU canon — there are connections to Creature Commandos and Gunn’s Superman movie, including appearances by Justice Gang superheroes Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced) and Green Lantern Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion) — Gunn revealed a Peacemaker-Batman throwdown is officially on the table.

“James Gunn just said he wants to see me fight Batman. That’s what he said,” Cena said during a panel at CCXP Mexico 2025 over the weekend. To that, Gunn added, “And lose.”

“I don’t mind losing a fight,” the WWE Champion said. “I’m a 17-time champion. I don’t know if you know this stat, but that means I had to lose it 16 times. So I don’t mind losing a fight at all.”

RELATED: DC Studios Co-Chief James Gunn Teases the DCU Batman: “He Already Exists in This Universe”

The third installment in what Gunn dubbed the Tighty Whities trilogy (consisting of 2021’s The Suicide Squad, 2022’s Peacemaker season 1, and 2025’s Peacemaker season 2), the new season of the HBO Max series is set a couple of years after Peacemaker and team — the tight-knit 11th Street Kids, which includes Emilia Harcourt (Jennifer Holland), John Economos (Steve Agee), Leota Adebayo (Danielle Brooks), and Vigilante (Freddie Stroma) — saved the world from the body-snatching alien Butterflies in the Peacemaker finale.

Season 2 follows Christopher Smith’s attempt to be taken seriously as a superhero among the metahuman community, like Superman (David Corenswet) and Batman (who Gunn has confirmed already exists and is active in the DCU).

“At the end of the day, Superman’s a great hero. He puts himself on the line. Batman, dark guy, he’s got some demons, but trying to do the right thing,” Gunn said on stage at CCXP.
“But Batman’s got nothing on Peacemaker in terms of the demons. He’s really a troubled soul. In this season, I think in some ways, it’s more about Christopher Smith than it is about Peacemaker. I don’t know if I think of him as a hero.”

When Gunn asked Cena if he thinks of Peacemaker as a hero, the actor replied, “He’s a hero for me. Peacemaker saved my life. You literally brought Peacemaker back from the dead. Peacemaker’s a hero for me, I can say that.”

“I did. I one hundred percent planned on killing Peacemaker in The Suicide Squad,” Gunn noted, referring to Smith’s near-fatal shootout with rival Task Force X member Bloodsport (Idris Elba). “But I liked working with John so much, I’m like, ‘It’s just a flesh wound.'”

Peacemaker season 2 premieres August 21 on HBO Max.

The post James Gunn Comments on DCU Batman vs. Peacemaker Fight (& John Cena Responds) appeared first on ComicBook.com.

A new behind-the-scenes video for the second season of Peacemaker offers the most significant look yet into the series’ wild new direction. The footage confirms the show will heavily embrace multiversal concepts by introducing alternate-dimension versions of established characters, giving fans a glimpse of a world where the history of Christopher Smith (John Cena) is dramatically different. Beyond the dimensional-hopping chaos, the video also provides a visceral look at the season’s central conflict, teasing a brutal and deeply personal war between Peacemaker and the new leadership of ARGUS, Rick Flag Sr. (Frank Grillo). The footage promises a season that will expand the lore of the titular character, while also pushing him to his physical and psychological limits within the new DC Universe.

The behind-the-scenes look is packed with specific reveals about the pocket dimension Peacemaker will seemingly access via the Quantum Unfolding Chamber. This alternate reality features a different version of Peacemaker himself, who sports a jetpack and an inverted dove symbol on his uniform. The pocket-dimension Peacemaker also drives a motorcycle with an ARGUS logo, indicating he has a different history with the organization than the primary Christopher Smith. In the pocket dimension, Peacemaker’s brother, Keith, is shown alive and wearing armor, suggesting he works alongside his brother as a fellow operative. This alternate world also contains a new version of the White Dragon, the villainous mantle of Peacemaker’s father (Robert Patrick). This variant is distinguished by his blue armor, a stark contrast to the red and white suit worn by the deceased Auggie Smith.

[RELATED: These Peacemaker Characters Are Joining the Season 2 Dance Opening (One Is Unbelievable)]

The footage also offers a clearer look at other new additions to the cast. Michael Rooker’s character, Red St. Wild, is shown more extensively, and the video introduces a four-eyed gray alien that could be a White or Green Martian. Solidifying the season’s primary earthly threat, the video includes a jarring sequence of Rick Flag Sr. beating Peacemaker during a violent interrogation. This scene underlines the intensity of the vendetta the new ARGUS head holds against Smith and previews the brutal nature of the manhunt that will be at the core of the season.

Everything We Know About Peacemaker’s New Place in the DCU

The second season of Peacemaker is poised to fundamentally reshape the titular character’s status quo, moving him past the events of the first season and cementing his role in the new DC Universe. According to James Gunn, a significant time jump of “a couple of years” will separate the two seasons, allowing the world to react to Leota Adebayo’s (Danielle Brooks) public exposure of Project Butterfly and Amanda Waller’s (Viola Davis) covert operations. This new reality, where Peacemaker’s existence is public knowledge, creates a fresh set of challenges and makes him a visible target for powerful new enemies.

The most formidable of these new adversaries is Rick Flag Sr., the new head of ARGUS. His mission to hunt down Peacemaker is driven by revenge for Peacemaker killing his son, Rick Flag Jr. (Joel Kinnaman), during the events of The Suicide Squad. Armed with the full resources of a government agency and a singular focus, Flag Sr. is being presented as the season’s main antagonist, and his vendetta will inevitably endanger the entire returning team, including Vigilante (Freddie Stroma), Emilia Harcourt (Jennifer Holland), and John Economos (Steve Agee).

Peacemaker Season 2 is scheduled to premiere on Thursday, August 21st, on HBO Max.

What are you most excited to see from the pocket-dimension characters in Peacemaker Season 2? Share your theories in the comments!

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Peacemaker‘s acclaimed opening dance sequence is changing in its upcoming second season, with series creator James Gunn revealing that the distinctive intro will feature an unexpected new character in addition to the new cast. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly with Gunn and lead star John Cena, the co-head of DC Studios also revealed that the revamped sequence will receive its public debut at Comic-Con this July. Peacemaker‘s opening in the first season helped the series go viral after the first episode. Featuring the entire primary cast, the sequence was set to Wig Wam’s “Do Ya Wanna Taste It,” with actors performing a synchronized robotic dance, all while maintaining impeccably straight faces. This deadpan delivery, combined with the vibrant glam metal anthem, perfectly encapsulated Peacemaker‘s distinctive surreal humor, helping set the tone for the series.

“I’ll give you an exclusive: You get to see Eagly try to dance for the first time,” Gunn stated. “So that’s really something. He is not the best at it, but he tries to really join in the dance sequence at the end. He’s got a little pose this time.” In addition to Peacemaker’s sidekick pet, the new opening sequence will feature the entire new cast for Season 2, as Gunn felt forced to change the opening after the events of Season 1. “We killed everyone in the season, so we kind of had to [shoot a new opening]. Everyone died! Also, we have a lot of new cast members — Tim Meadows is Langston Fleury, Sol Rodriguez is Sasha Bordeaux, and Michael Rooker’s in the cast, Judomaster is a bigger character this time — so I knew that I needed to do a new dance.”

[RELATED: DC Studios Is Headed to Comic-Con & We Already Know One Big Reveal]

“This time around, everybody looked at it through a different lens, knowing how much the audience enjoyed the first one,” Cena added. “[We knew] this is going to be a cornerstone of the show, so let’s dive in. Everyone gave their best in season 1, but I just think people now know the importance of it, and hopefully it shines through in season 2.”

What to Expect When Peacemaker Season 2 Returns

The second season of Peacemaker will find its characters navigating a dramatically changed environment, as Gunn has confirmed a time jump of “a couple of years” will separate the new episodes from the first season’s finale. This multi-year gap is expected to have profoundly reshaped the lives of Christopher Smith nd the 11th Street Kids, particularly after Leota Adebayo’s (Danielle Brooks) public disclosure of Project Butterfly and Amanda Waller’s (Viola Davis) covert A.R.G.U.S. operations. The ramifications of this global exposé are already influencing the broader state of the new DC Universe, as seen in the animated series Creature Commandos, in which Waller struggles to keep her power. In Season 2 of Peacemaker, Frank Grillo’s Rick Flag Sr. will be the new head of A.R.G.U.S., pushing this narrative further.

As the father of Rick Flag Jr. (Joel Kinnaman), killed by Peacemaker in The Suicide Squad, Rick Flag Sr. will become a powerful adversary with both institutional backing and a deeply personal motivation to hunt down Smith in Season 2 of Peacemaker. This vendetta will inevitably endanger the entire returning team, including Vigilante (Freddie Stroma), Emilia Harcourt (Jennifer Holland), and John Economos (Steve Agee). The psychological burdens on Peacemaker are also set to continue, with Robert Patrick anticipated to reprise his role as Auggie Smith, Peacemaker’s deceased and virulently racist father.

Season 2 is also primed to introduce new characters. Rooker is slated to appear as Red St. Wild, a character Gunn has described as the “world’s foremost eagle hunter” and a specific antagonist for Eagly. The ensemble will further expand with Sol Rodríguez cast as Sasha Bordeaux and Tim Meadows as an A.R.G.U.S. agent. Finally, the Quantum Unfolding Chamber (QUC) technology, a plot device from the first season that will also feature in the Superman movie, is expected to be central to the new season’s narrative, possibly leading Peacemaker to a bizarre encounter with an alternate version of himself.

Peacemaker Season 2 is scheduled to premiere on Thursday, August 21st, on HBO Max.

Are you excited about Peacemaker‘s Season 2 new dancing number? Let us know in the comments below!

The post These Peacemaker Characters Are Joining the Season 2 Dance Opening (One Is Unbelievable) appeared first on ComicBook.com.

James Gunn has confirmed a significant time jump will occur between the first and second seasons of the hit Max series Peacemaker, clarifying that the narrative will pick up “a couple of years” after the events of the initial season. Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Gunn underlined that creating a flexible timeframe echoes DC Studios’s broader strategy for building a cohesive and enduring cinematic universe, aiming to avoid the continuity pitfalls arising from rigidly defined timelines. This revelation comes as anticipation builds for the show’s return, which will see John Cena’s titular character officially integrated into the new DC Universe spearheaded by Gunn and Peter Safran. Peacemaker Season 2 is positioned as a key early installment in this revamped DCU, following the animated series Creature Commandos and Gunn’s own theatrical release, Superman, with those stories influencing Christopher Smith’s world.

“I see how difficult, after all my time at Marvel, it is to make things truly fit together, so it’s an unspecified amount of a couple of years,” Gunn stated. This intentionally inexact gap is a strategic choice informed by the director’s extensive experience with Marvel’s interconnected storytelling. Instead of locking DC into specific dates that could become narrative straitjackets down the line, an “unspecified amount of a couple of years” provides crucial breathing room. This approach allows future DCU projects to develop organically without tripping over rigidly established continuity points, a challenge that long-running universes often face. It grants writers and directors the freedom to tell the best stories without making every single timeline detail meticulously align across multiple productions, sidestepping potential plot holes.

[RELATED: DC Studios Is Headed to Comic-Con & We Already Know One Big Reveal]

The first season of Peacemaker concluded with Christopher Smith and the 11th Street Kids successfully thwarting the global threat posed by the Butterflies. However, Peacemaker himself was left to grapple with the haunting specter of his abusive father and his own violent past. Meanwhile, Leota Adebayo (Danielle Brooks) made the shocking decision to expose Project Butterfly and Amanda Waller’s (Viola Davis) A.R.G.U.S. operations to the world. This act, while righteous, shifted the forces of the DC Universe, as we began to see in Creature Commandos. A couple of years passing suggests significant changes for the characters, both in their personal lives and in how the world perceives them after Adebayo’s revelations.

Everything We Know About Peacemaker Season 2 in the New DCU

While the core narrative of Christopher Smith’s journey from the first season will carry over into Gunn and Peter Safran’s new DC Universe, certain elements, like the original Justice League cameo, will be adjusted to align with the fresh continuity. Gunn himself penned all eight episodes of the new season and directed three, including the premiere. The returning main cast includes Brooks as Leota Adebayo, Freddie Stroma as Vigilante, Jennifer Holland as Emilia Harcourt, Steve Agee as John Economos, and Nhut Le as Judomaster. Robert Patrick is also set to reprise his role as Auggie Smith, Peacemaker’s deceased father, who is expected to appear in visions or flashbacks that continue to delve into his profound psychological impact on his son.

A formidable new adversary enters the fray in the form of Frank Grillo’s Rick Flag Sr., the father of Rick Flag Jr. (Joel Kinnaman), whom Peacemaker killed during the events of The Suicide Squad. As the new head of A.R.G.U.S., Flag Sr. is positioned as a primary antagonist, leading an operation to capture Peacemaker. His character arc is woven through multiple DCU projects, beginning in the animated series Creature Commandos and continuing with an appearance in Superman before his significant role in Peacemaker. Adding another layer of threat, Michael Rooker joins the cast as Red St. Wild, described by Gunn as the world’s foremost eagle hunter and a specific nemesis for Peacemaker’s beloved animal sidekick, Eagly. The ensemble expands further with Sol Rodríguez portraying Sasha Bordeaux, Brey Noelle as the Batman villain White Rabbit, and veteran comedic actor Tim Meadows as A.R.G.U.S. agent Langston Fleury, alongside David Denman in an as-yet-undisclosed role.

Season 2 will find Peacemaker, post-Butterfly-threat, believing he deserves greater recognition and should be regarded as a true superhero. He even goes as far as interviewing for membership with a superhero group featured in Superman, only to be met with mockery, reinforcing his status as a punchline within the metahuman community. Furthermore, the Quantum Unfolding Chamber (QUC) technology, which played a part in Season 1 and will be further explored in Superman, is teased to be central to the storyline of Peacemaker Season 2, leading him to meet an alternate version of himself.

Peacemaker Season 2 premieres Thursday, August 21st, on HBO Max.

How do you think the time jump will affect Peacemaker and the 11th Street Kids? Share your theories in the comments below!

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Michael Rooker takes on a new role in Peacemaker Season 2, and we just got our first look at his outrageous costume. The actor plays Red St. Wild, the world’s foremost eagle hunter, according to James Gunn, and he’s a nemesis not to Peacemaker himself, but to his animal sidekick, Eagly. The new photo was included in Gunn’s interview with Entertainment Weekly, showing Rooker clad as an eccentric hunter adorned with feathers, wielding a cartoonishly large rifle. The actor already played two different characters in The Suicide Squad and Creature Commandos, so it’s not clear if this is the last time we’ll see him take a new role in the DC Universe.

“His name is Red St. Wild, and he’s the world’s foremost eagle hunter who is on a mission to kill Eagly,” Gunn said. “We thought Eagly was probably the most popular character from season 1, and so in season 2, he has his own story with his nemesis, played by none other than the despicable Michael Rooker.”

The photo shows someone who is definitely fascinating enough to become a fan favorite. Red St. Wild wears a bowler cap and a rugged coat, but underneath are an elaborate beaded necklace and a collection of feathers — presumably eagle-hunting trophies. Those, along with the turquoise rings on his fingers and the long braids in his hair, indicate some Native American influence to his design, while the absurdly large gun across his shoulders indicates nefarious intent.

[RELATED: Peacemaker’s Connection to Superman Is Deeper Than DC Fans Thought]

Rooker and Gunn already have a strong track record when it comes to superhero movies. Rooker played Yondu in all three Guardians of the Galaxy movies before making the jump to the DCU. He played Brian Durlin, a.k.a. Savant in The Suicide Squad, but then voiced Sam Fitzgibbon in a single episode of Creature Commandos. Rooker also has a voice-over role in Superman coming this summer — he will play Five, one of the Kryptonian robots that helps Superman construct his Fortress of Solitude.

Creature Commandos was the first official DCU title, though some characters and aspects of The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker will carry over into this continuity. That leaves Rooker’s roles in a tenuous place, but he seems to have no shortage of work. The franchise will really pick up steam when Superman hits theaters on July 11th, and its next title after that is Peacemaker Season 2, premiering on Thursday, August 21st on HBO Max.

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James Gunn and John Cena just revealed one of DC Studios’ big previews coming at San Diego Comic Con this summer. The duo sat down for an interview with Entertainment Weekly about Peacemaker Season 2, teasing as much as they could about sequence show ahead of its release on August 21st. They promised that there is a new dance scene to take the place of the opening credits from Season 1, and even said that this is one of the previews fans will see at Comic Con in July. That can only been San Diego Comic Con, which runs from Thursday, July 24th to Sunday, July 27th this year.

Peacemaker Season 1 started each episode with a tightly-choreographed by robotic dance number set to “Do You Wanna Taste It” by Wig Wam. It was enough to hook many viewers who were not already sold on this superhero side-story, and it went viral even outside of the show’s viewers on social media. Gunn assured EW that there’s a new dance scene that they’ll get to see sooner than expected.

“You get to see Eagly try to dance for the first time,” he divulged. “So that’s really something. He is not the best at it, but he tries to really join in the dance sequence at the end. He’s got a little pose this time.”

[RELATED: Peacemaker Season 2 Trailer Features Two Justice League Characters (But Does That Make Sense?)]

“This time around, everybody looked at it through a different lens, knowing how much the audience enjoyed the first one,” Cena added. “[We knew] this is going to be a cornerstone of the show, so let’s dive in. Everyone gave their best in season 1, but I just think people now know the importance of it and hopefully it shines through in season 2.”

Asked why they filmed a new opening credit sequence instead of re-using the fan-favorite one from last season, Gunn joked, “We killed everyone in the season, so we kind of had to. Everyone died! Also, we have a lot of new cast members — Tim Meadows is Langston Fleury, Sol Rodriguez is Sasha Bordeaux, and Michael Rooker’s in the cast, Judomaster is a bigger character this time — so I knew that I needed to do a new dance.”

Gunn confirmed that the new credits will also feature a new song, but admitted that he felt conflicted about it. “I really went back and forth an awful lot,” he said. “And at the end of the day, I decided that we use a new song that’s a little bit more about what the season’s about.”

By the time of SDCC, Superman will be out in theaters and the DCU will be in full swing. We may have a much better idea of what’s coming in Peacemaker Season 2 and what role the new characters will have to play in it. Superman hits theaters on July 11th, while Peacemaker debuts on Max on August 21st.

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According to James Gunn, DC fans are getting a pretty big cameo in Season 2 of Peacemaker. It’s been three years since Peacemaker debuted on Max, but the wait for Season 2 is almost over. Except this time, the John Cena-starring show will be a part of the new DC Universe spearheaded by Gunn. Preceding Peacemaker are the adult-animated series Creature Commandos and the theatrical Superman, so Peacemaker fans can expect several characters from both projects to make appearances. But apparently, Gunn has an even bigger surprise in store when a mystery character makes a cameo in Peacemaker.

Entertainment Weekly spoke to James Gunn about Peacemaker Season 2, with the prolific filmmaker dropping teases and details regarding everything that will go down in the sophomore season. Without giving too much away, Gunn delivered another bombshell when speaking about Superman guest stars.

“You’ve seen what we call the QUC, the Quantum Unfolding Chamber, in the first season of Peacemaker, and we see more about that technology in Superman,“ Gunn told EW. “The QUC is the center of the story in Peacemaker season 2… We see a lot of different characters from Superman in the [season], [including] Isabela [Merced] and Nathan [Fillion], and Sean [Gunn], and then we see a bunch of other characters later on in the season from other parts of the DCU and from Superman. There might even be one really, really, really big cameo near the end of the show.”

[RELATED: 5 DC Characters With Controversial Origin Stories]

Which DC Universe character will cameo in Peacemaker Season 2?

The first name that immediately comes to mind as far as cameos that could garner that type of build-up is David Corenswet’s Superman. The first season of Peacemaker saw Flash (Ezra Miller) and Aquaman (Jason Momoa) show up in the season finale, while the rest of the Justice League remained in the shadows. The Justice League arrived just as Peacemaker and the 11th Street Gang had defeated the threat of the Butterflies. With Peacemaker having such a strong connection to Superman, it makes sense for the Man of Steel to cameo and give John Cena a pep talk.

However, there’s also a possibility that Nicholas Hoult’s Lex Luthor may take an interest in Peacemaker. Luthor is always scheming to get the upper hand on Superman, and he could see Peacemaker as a tool to achieve his goals. Peacemaker will be juggling how to deal with not getting the respect he deserves from the metahuman community, and Luthor could feed into those insecurities.

“We come into season 2 with Peacemaker knowing that he saved the world from the Butterflies,” Gunn said. “He thinks he’s a big star now, and he should be a real superhero. And we see at the very beginning of episode 1 that he’s meeting with the group of superheroes from Superman, and he’s basically interviewing for membership in the group. But they just mock him the entire time, so he’s not taken seriously.”

Gunn then elaborated on how Peacemaker will struggle with these feelings throughout the season. “He’s still considered a punchline among all of the other metahumans, so he’s starting the season in a bad place,” he said. “As are all of our heroes, all of the 11th Street kids — well, everybody but Vigilante [Freddie Stroma], who just always seems to be okay with everything.”

Who do you think the big cameo is in Season 2 of Peacemaker? Let us know in the comments below!

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Peacemaker is one of the few titles from the old DCEU franchise adopted into the new DC Universe continuity, and according to James Gunn, it’s tied into the story tightly, naturally, and seamlessly. Gunn was already the showrunner on Peacemaker when he took the job as co-CEO of DC Studios and began spearheading the entire DCU. All these new responsibilities delayed Peacemaker Season 2, but in a new interview with Entertainment Weekly, Gunn explained that this also allowed Peacemaker to become more connected to the rest of the franchise. The DCU hits the big screen with Superman on July 11th followed closely by Peacemaker Season 2 on August 21st, and Gunn said the two are “very much connected.”

“Once I was done with Peacemaker, I had to do Guardians 3, and then when I was about ready to jump [back] into Peacemaker, I got hired to be the head of DC,” Gunn explained. “As soon as I got that job, I made a couple of calls, and the first one was to [Marvel’s] Kevin Feige telling him that I’m taking the [job as] head of DC. The second one was to John Cena, and I said, ‘I’m getting this gig, and I still want to do Peacemaker, but it’s going to have to wait. We’re going to have to get Superman working first.'”

Gunn is not only an executive for DC Studios, he’s a driving creative force behind this first batch of DCU titles. He’s the writer and director of Superman, the creator of Creature Commandos, and the showrunner of Peacemaker. He joked that in order to get back to Peacemaker, he just had to “get through this other little movie, this little side project first.” However, working on the two projects back to back also allowed him to forge them together.

[RELATED: John Cena Is on the Run in Peacemaker Season 2 Trailer]

“As soon as I was done writing Superman, I was able to write Season 2 of Peacemaker,” Gunn said. “I know it seems like a long time for other people, but for me it all seems awful short because there was so many things I did in between.” The result is that Gunn was perfectly positioned to see how Peacemaker Season 2 could slot into the continuity and establish itself within the DCU.

“I developed it along the way, in conjunction with the other DC projects that we’re doing, so it’s very much connected to Superman and it’s very much connected to what comes after,” he said. “I had a rough idea of what I was going to do, but it was actually quite different than what the show ended up being.”

At the same time, Gunn assured fans that Peacemaker Season 1 is still very much canon, and it will have an impact on the story to come. The series returns on Thursday, August 21st on HBO Max. Season 1 is streaming there now.

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