‘The Suicide Squad’: John Cena’s Peacemaker is Getting His Own HBO Max Series
The trailer for ‘The Suicide Squad’ holds a lot of promise for director James Gunn’s reimagining of the 2016 film. So much so, that HBO Max has ordered a prequel series based on Peacemaker, who is played by John Cena. The show will be a limited series of eight episodes. Gunn will write every episode. In addition, he’ll direct a few episodes and executive produce the show with Peter Safran and Cena.
After Gunn’s embarrassing Twitter posts which saw Marvel (temporarily) dump him as the director of the Guardian of the Galaxy series, Warner Bros. and DC snapped up the talented writer-director. And by the looks of things, they’re certainly making the most of his talent.
Here’s what HBO Max’s press release said earlier today:
While details about Peacemaker are being kept under wraps, the series will explore the origins of the character that Cena will play in the upcoming film, a man who believes in peace at any cost — no matter how many people he has to kill to get it. The series will extend the world that Gunn is creating for The Suicide Squad movie, which is scheduled to be released in theaters by Warner Bros. Pictures on August 6, 2021.
Gunn added in his own statement:
“Peacemaker is an opportunity to delve into current world issues through the lens of this superhero/supervillain/and the world’s biggest douchebag.”
HBO Max plans to begin production in early 2021 before Gunn begins Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 3 for Marvel Studios.
Peacemaker first appeared in 1966 as part of Charlton Comics. When DC purchased Charlton in the early 80s, Peacemaker and Charlton’s other characters were incorporated into DC Universe. While characters like Blue Beetle and Captain Atom were successfuly integrated into DC, Peacemaker struggled to gain a following. Alan Moore used Charlton Comic characters as the foundation for Watchmen’s super-human fascists, and madmen. Moore’s original idea was a mystery centered on Peacemaker’s murder. Uncomfortable with sending the Charlton characters “to the butchers”, DC encouraged Moore to craft original characters, and Peacemaker was saved for later use.
HBO Max hasn’t revealed a release date for Peacemaker, but you’ can catch your first glimpse of Cena in the role when The Suicide Squad hits theaters on August 6, 2020.
