John Cena’s Peacemaker character was the break-out star of The Suicide Squad. For most of the movie, he was an amusingly psychotic antihero devoted to his mission of achieving peace, no matter how many men, women, and children he needs to kill to achieve it. This was played for (dark) laughs, though things took a more sinister turn when it was revealed he’d received secret orders to cover up American war crimes.
The resulting brouhaha with Idris Elba’s Bloodsport left him hospitalized, but now he’s back in HBO Max show Peacemaker. We got our first look at the show during the DC Fandome, but with just over a month until it premieres, we have an explosive new trailer. Check it out:
It looks like a fun time, with the tone succinctly summarized when they remark that Peacemaker is useful because “the world needs a son of a bitch”. Despite his single-minded crusade, we’re also seeing some cracks form in his philosophy, with him having a crisis of conscience when he’s asked to shoot at some kids.
Other than that we get some fresh looks at his father Auggie Smith, as played by Terminator 2 and The Sopranos star Robert Patrick. This will flesh out Peacemaker’s backstory, with Smith described as a powerful and cunning small-town racist.
There’s also more of Vigilante, best known for his appearances in Arrow. The DCEU version seems to be a much more comedic take on the character and joins Peacemaker on what seems to be an extra-judicial US government assassination squad.
Gunn took to Twitter on Friday morning to invite people to tune in next month when it debuts.
Peacemaker should be a wild ride through small-town America and far from a mere side project for James Gunn. Let’s hope it hits the target when it arrives on HBO Max on Jan. 13.