Today marks the season finale of Peacemaker, the surprisingly great HBO Max series spun out of James Gunn’s Suicide Squad. I haven’t watched the final episode yet, but the entire series has been a blast so far, turning John Cena’s murderous Peacemaker from the film into a multidimensional character that is now leading the charge for the DCEU on television.
Even before this finale aired, it was confirmed that yes, Peacemaker season 2 was happening. The news was announced earlier this week.
Heres’ James Gunn:
“Creating Peacemaker has been one of the true highlights of my life, both professionally and otherwise, with John Cena and the incredible creative team around me, as well as our partners at HBO Max,” Gunn said in a statement. “To have something we all love so much be loved by the audience in turn has been a wonderful experience. I can’t wait for folks to see where team Peacemaker goes in season two!”
And here’s John Cena:
“I am incredibly honored and humbled by the response to Peacemaker and the experience of playing this character.”
And here’s HBO Max head of original content, Sarah Aubrey:
“The brilliance of James Gunn once again shines with Peacemaker. He took this character, brought to life by the inimitable John Cena and created an exceptional series that’s simultaneously thrilling, hilarious and heartfelt, showcasing the humanity beneath this team of misfits living in a superhuman world. As the first original DC show to have its series premiere on HBO Max, we are thrilled that the viewers agreed to give peace a f***ing chance.”
Previously, Gunn has said that he has more ideas for Suicide Squad spin-offs, but those have not been made public yet. Options are narrow, given the very small number of people that survived his film, but my guess would be a Ratcatcher series, given how much of a breakout star Daniela Melchior was. I also think at this point Harley Quinn might be better suited in a Gunn-led TV series than continuing to get new movies, but that seems less likely. I believe there are already plans for her to get a Gotham City Sirens movie at some point.
As for Peacemaker season 2, the options are endless, but reinforces that the show is an anchor for the presence of the DCEU on HBO Max, even as things are starting to get a bit complicated with DC offerings on the service.
Peacemaker has been a highly “in demand” show by third party metrics since it debuted, but so has DC’s Titans, which airs on HBO Max and does not take place in the same universe. DC also has Doom Patrol, another universe. And the incredible animated Harley Quinn series. Finally, they are moving forward with a bunch of new projects, two shows spun out of the non-DCEU Robert Pattinson Batman movie, one about the GCPD and the other about the Penguin. There’s also supposed to be a Green Lantern series coming at some point, and it’s unclear what universe that may reside in.
At this point, I think DC actually has an advantage with all these splintered universes, which opens itself up to a lot more freedom to do essentially whatever it wants across these movies and shows. While Marvel has made its ultra-connected MCU work, DC not making that requirement has worked to its benefit lately.
As for an actual Peacemaker season 2 release date, we don’t have one yet after the announcement, but barring any more COVID delays, it seems like early 2023 is the safest bet at the moment. Given the show’s performance, I imagine it’s a top priority for HBO Max, and I would not be shocked to see that other Suicide Squad spin-off greenlit soon as well.
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Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.
