Peacemaker is a superhero comedy-drama television series created by James Gunn and produced by DC Studios. Premiering on HBO Max in 2022, it stars John Cena as the eponymous vigilante, who performing missions for the U.S. government alongside a covert ops team of misfits.
The series was met with positive reviews for its writing and Cena's performance, and saw increasing viewership with each episode of its first season. It is a spin-off of The Suicide Squad (2021), and itself led to the spin-off series Creature Commandos (2024–present).
Plot[]
The first season is set in the DC Extended Universe, and follows Peacemaker after his recovery from the injuries he sustained in The Suicide Squad. He joins a new covert ops team on a top secret operation to hunt down and destroy parasitic alien Butterflies, while also questioning his ethos and moral code.[1][2]
The second season will be set in the DC Universe and retroactively make the first season canon to that timeline. It will follow Peacemaker and his friends coming into conflict with Rick Flag Sr, whose son Peacemaker killed in The Suicide Squad.[3]
Cast[]
Starring[]
- John Cena as Chris Smith/Peacemaker[4]
- Danielle Brooks as Leota Adebayo[5]
- Freddie Stroma as Adrian Chase/Vigilante[6]
- Jennifer Holland as Emilia Harcourt[5]
- Steve Agee as John Economos[5]
- Robert Patrick as Auggie Smith/White Dragon[7]
- Chukwudi Iwuji as Clemson Murn (Season 1)
- Frank Grillo as General Rick Flag Sr. (Season 2)[8]
Recurring[]
- Dee Bradley Baker as Eagly (voice)[9]
- Annie Chang as Det. Sophie Song and "Goff"
- Lochlyn Munro as Det. Larry Fitzgibbon
- Nhut Le as Judomaster
- Elizabeth Ludlow as Keeya Adebayo[10]
- Christopher Heyerdahl as Caspar Locke
- Rizwan Manji as Jamil
- Alison Araya as Amber Calcaterra
- Lenny Jacobson as Evan Calcaterra
- Viola Davis as Amanda Waller
- Quinn Bennett as Young Chris Smith
- Liam Hughes as Keith Smith
- Sol Rodriguez as Agent Sasha Bordeaux
- Tim Meadows as Agent Langston Fleury
- Brey Noelle as Jaina Hudson/White Rabbit[11]
Episodes[]
Season 1[]
| Ep# | Title | Airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "A Whole New Whirled" | January 13, 2022 |
| 2 | "Best Friends, For Never" | January 13, 2022 |
| 3 | "Better Goff Dead" | January 13, 2022 |
| 4 | "The Choad Less Traveled" | January 20, 2022 |
| 5 | "Monkey Dory" | January 27, 2022 |
| 6 | "Murn After Reading" | February 3, 2022 |
| 7 | "Stop Dragon My Heart Around" | February 10, 2022 |
| 8 | "It's Cow or Never" | February 17, 2022 |
Production[]
Development[]
While in post-production on The Suicide Squad during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, James Gunn wrote the entire first season of Peacemaker, centered around John Cena's character from the film, to entertain himself while quarantined in his house, never thinking he'd actually get to make the show. However, he was eventually offered the chance to create the series by Warner Bros, and produced the series with his production company, Troll Court Entertainment, and The Safran Company, in association with Warner Bros.[12][13]
Production on Season 1[]
The first season was filmed from January to July of 2021,[14] with Gunn directing five episodes and the other three being directed by Jody Hill, Rosemary Rodriguez, and Brad Anderson. It was released in early 2022 on HBO Max,[15] and following increasing viewership and positive reviews, Peacemaker was renewed for a second season the day before the season finale.[16]
Production on Season 2[]
Production on Season 2 was delayed when Gunn became the head of DC Studios in October 2022, but it was eventually filmed in 2024. Gunn directed three episodes of the series while also directing Superman.[17] Season 2 is set to premiere in August 2025.
Music[]
The series is scored by Clint Mansell and Kevin Kiner,[18] and features several glam metal songs selected by Gunn himself. The first season's opening title sequence is an extravagant dance number performed by the cast, set to "Do You Wanna Taste It" by Wig Wam.[19] There will be a new dance number for the second season's title sequence, according to Frank Grillo.[20]
Companion podcast[]
Podly: The Peacemaker Podcast is a companion podcast that released weekly alongside the first season, hosted by Ify Nwadiwe and Fiona Nova and featuring interviews with the cast and crew.[21]
Trivia[]
- The only element of Peacemaker Season 1 not canon to the DCU is the appearance of the Justice League, which will be explained in the upcoming second season.[3]
- Peacemaker Presents: The Vigilante/Eagly Double Feature! is meant to bridge the gap between Season 1 and Season 2 of Peacemaker, with Gunn serving as story consultant, though it is not strictly DCU canon.[22][23]
- The series draws inspiration from several comics, most prominently Peacemaker (Volume 2), Peacemaker (Volume 1), and Suicide Squad (Volume 1). In turn, the comic miniseries Peacemaker Tries Hard! was inspired by the TV show.
External links[]
- Peacemaker at the DC Extended Universe Wiki
- Peacemaker at the DC Universe Wiki
- Peacemaker (TV series) at Wikipedia.org
- ↑ Peacemaker: "A Whole New Whirled"
- ↑ Peacemaker: "Better Goff Dead"
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 James Gunn on Creature Commandos and Killing Nazis in His New DC Universe – YouTube
- ↑ @JohnCena on X
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 @CultureCrave on X
- ↑ James Gunn Confirms a Major Peacemaker Hero Will Return Before Season 2 – CBR
- ↑ @jamesgunn on Instagram (June 13, 2024)
- ↑ @jamesgunn on Instagram (May 10, 2024)
- ↑ The onscreen Eagly is entirely a digital effect animated by Wētā FX, while Baker provides his vocalizations
- ↑ Elizabeth Faith Ludlow on Instagram (October 3, 2024)
- ↑ @DCFilmNews on X
- ↑ The Suicide Squad Spinoff Peacemaker Begins Filming With James Gunn – ComicBook.com
- ↑ Danielle Brooks, Robert Patrick, Jennifer Holland and Chris Conrad to Star in HBO Max Original Series Peacemaker, from James Gunn and Peter Safran – WarnerBros.com (archived)
- ↑ @JamesGunn on X (archived)
- ↑ The Batman Trailer, Looks At The Flash, Aquaman 2 Hit DC FanDome – The Hollywood Reporter
- ↑ Peacemaker Season 2 Is Official Says James Gunn & John Cena – Deadline
- ↑ Peacemaker Season 2 Starts Filming & James Gunn Shares Photo From The Set – Deadline
- ↑ @JamesGunn on X (June 14, 2021) (archived)
- ↑ Peacemaker Premiere: James Gunn Talks Opening Credits Dance Party – Rolling Stone
- ↑ "We Do Get Into It": Frank Grillo Teases His Fight With John Cena In Peacemaker Season 2 – Collider
- ↑ Peacemaker Podcast From Rooster Teeth to Feature James Gunn, Others – Variety
- ↑ DC To Prepare Peacemaker Fans For Season 2 With New Eagly/Vigilante Double Feature Comic Series – ScreenRant
- ↑ @JamesGunn on X (archived on Reddit)