After you’ve gotten to know — and, given the nature of the Suicide Squad, potentially said goodbye to — John Cena’s Peacemaker in The Suicide Squad, you’ll get to see his very violent, peace-loving origins on HBO Max.
HBO Max has commissioned an eight episode action-comedy DC comics series starring John Cena, simply titled Peacemaker. Written, partially directed by (including its debut episode), and co-produced by The Suicide Squad’s James Gunn, the series will explore the origins of Cena’s character. In the comics, Peacemaker — real name Christopher Smith — is a committed pacifist who, so driven by his ideals, promptly decides that the only way to achieve world peace is to become a superpowered hero and murder anyone in his way. The Suicide Squad producer Peter Safran will also executive produce the series alongside Gunn, with Cena himself as as co-executive producer.
“Peacemaker is an opportunity to delve into current world issues through the lens of this superhero/supervillain/and world’s biggest douchebag,” Gunn said in a statement included in HBO’s press release. “I’m excited to expand The Suicide Squad and bring this character from the DC film universe to the full breadth of a series. And of course, to be able to work again with John, Peter, and my friends at Warner Bros. is the icing on the cake.”
This is only the latest in Warner’s plans to more tightly intertwine its original HBO Max content with the DC Universe movie slate. A Gotham-PD-focused spinoff set in the world of The Batman was announced a few months ago, alongside the likes of other DC fare such as J.J. Abrams’ Justice League Dark and both Green Lantern and Strange Adventures being developed by CW/DC architect Greg Berlanti.
Peacemaker is set to start filming next year. The Suicide Squad is currently set to hit Australian theatres August 5, 2021.