James Gunn and John Cena have some big plans for Peacemaker as the character is heading to HBO Max for a prequel series to The Suicide Squad.
In a surprise announcement on Wednesday, James Gunn has shared that he is writing an 8-part Peacemaker series for HBO Max. In addition to writing, he will also direct a few episodes and executive produce the series. Cena will be reprising his role from the upcoming The Suicide Squad film.
“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.
Gunn and Peter Safran will serve as executive producers alongside John Cena.
The plan currently is for the series to go into production in early 2021 before Gunn departs to head back to Marvel Studios for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. This fits in perfectly as he agreed with Warner Bros. to not begin work on that film until The Suicide Squad hits theaters, so if filming begins before then he can do all of his promised projects.
HBO Max gave Peacemaker a straight-to-series order meaning that no pilot is needed to prove itself and work can begin immediately.
Peacemaker was originally introduced in 1966 as part of Charlton Comics. He was acquired by DC when they bought out Charlton and brought in all of their characters to the DC Universe. When Alan Moore worked on his classic Watchmen story and planned to use the Charlton characters, Peacemaker would have filled the role the Comedian did. Once DC said Moore would have to use new characters, Peacemaker was saved for later use.
No word on when Peacemaker will debut on HBO Max, but The Suicide Squad is due to hit theaters on Aug. 6, 2021.
