James Gunn initially wrote the role of Peacemaker in The Suicide Squad with his Guardians of the Galaxy collaborator Dave Bautista in mind, but when the former professional wrestler opted to take the lead in Zack Snyder’s Army of the Dead instead, the part ironically ended up going to one of his old WWE rivals.
John Cena appears to have lucked out as well, with Peacemaker announced to be getting his own HBO Max spinoff last year. Gunn developed the project during his COVID-19 downtime for no other reason than to keep himself occupied, but Warner Bros. liked it so much that it was ordered straight to series. Shooting is set to conclude in the next few weeks and Peacemaker has been confirmed for a January 2022 debut, with the Slither and Super filmmaker writing all eight episodes and directing a handful himself.
Of course, the series is a prequel, so there are no guarantees that Cena is going to make it out of The Suicide Squad alive, especially after the movie’s director admitted that he’s killing off the majority of the ensemble. And in a new interview, the upcoming Fast & Furious 9 villain didn’t mince his words when describing his latest major franchise gig.
“He loves peace so much he’ll kill for it. That one sentence, right there is so… F*cked.”
Cena’s in-ring persona for well over a decade was all about being the clean cut good guy, so he’s clearly relishing the chance to sink his teeth into acting projects that require him to play against type. Having already called himself the best Fast & Furious bad guy ever and claimed that The Suicide Squad is going to make you sh*t your pants, hearing that Peacemaker stars a f*cked up superhero is hardly surprising given the 44 year-old’s current career trajectory as he continues to climb the Hollywood ladder.