John Cena returns with a new season of twisted superhero comedy Peacemaker
As Bob Dylan famously declared more than six decades ago, the times they are a-changin’, and that’s as true today as it was then. It’s also the case for another (fictional) world: the DC Universe.
When American filmmaker James Gunn and British producer Peter Safran took over as co-chiefs of DC Studios in 2023, they announced that the existing DC Extended Universe would be abandoned in favour of a more streamlined sequence of reboots and reimaginings. Thankfully for fans of John Cena’s Peacemaker, the patriot — like DC mainstays including Superman, Wonder Woman and Batman — has made the cut. With this in mind, the muscly, no-nonsense hero is back this month in a big way, more than three years after his titular series premiered in early 2022.
As originally described by HBO Max (formerly Max) via its parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery, “Peacemaker follows the explosive escapades of the character that John Cena reprises in the aftermath of James Gunn’s 2021 film The Suicide Squad — a compellingly vainglorious man who believes in peace at any cost, no matter how many people he has to kill to get it.”
Now, after Peacemaker (a.k.a. Christopher Smith) has recovered from his injuries and waged his own brand of justice, in the second season he “discovers an alternate world where life is everything he wishes it could be.” However, “this discovery also forces him to face his traumatic past and take the future into his own hands.”
Cena appeared at a recent Peacemaker Q&A at ComicCon in San Diego — costumed as his character, no less — and weighed in on Peacemaker experiencing an alternate universe in which he’s beloved by the public, not considered to be a joke. According to Cena, the character “is going through a rough patch in life and thinks the grass might be greener on the other side. That’s something people can relate to.”
Gunn — who wrote all eight episodes for the second season — explained that he wanted to take the character’s journey into some audacious new directions. “I really like TV shows where the characters don’t just return every season and they’re the same exact characters,” he said. “I want to see growth. 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.”
As for Cena’s co-stars, Danielle Brooks returns as Leota Adebayo, daughter of Suicide Squad founder and ARGUS (Advanced Research Group Uniting Super-Humans) leader Amanda Waller (Viola Davis), along with fan favourites Freddie Stroma as Vigilante, Jennifer Holland as Agent Emilia Harcourt and Steve Agee as Agent John Economos.
Peacemaker’s racist father, August “Auggie” Smith (a.k.a. White Dragon) will return, with Robert Patrick reprising the role. In addition, Peacemaker’s trusty avian sidekick Eagly (voiced by American Dad’s Dee Bradley Baker), also returns for the new season.
New additions to the cast include Tim Meadows, Sol Rodriguez and Frank Grillo as Rick Flag, Sr., who has more than likely come to settle the score after Peacemaker killed his son, Rick Flag, Jr. (Joel Kinnaman) in Gunn’s 2021 film The Suicide Squad.
When Den of Geek asked Cena about his expectations for Peacemaker, he was bullish about the future. “I can confidently say that the future of Peacemaker is one that will defy the odds,” he declared.
The season premiere of Peacemaker airs Thursday, August 21, on Crave1