James Gunn Reveals Why Peacemaker Got the First ‘Suicide Squad’ Spinoff
The Suicide Squad is officially in theaters and on HBO Max, and fans have finally been able to experience the long-awaited sequel to 2016’s ill-fated Suicide Squad. One of the movie's breakout characters is John Cena's Peacemaker, and last year, it was confirmed that Cena would star in a standalone spinoff series. Now, in an interview with Entertainment Tonight, director James Gunn has revealed why Peacemaker was the first character from The Suicide Squad to receive his own project.
“Well, I think that it's a number of things. In the movie... Harley gets a really complete story about herself, she gets a complete arc. Bloodsport gets a complete story. Rick Flag gets a complete story. Ratcatcher 2 gets a complete story,” explained Gunn. “They all learn something about themselves — sometimes good things, sometimes bad things — but Peacemaker is a douche and he stays a douche and he's an asshole in the movie.”
The lack of character development is what inspired Gunn and the rest of the creative team to give Peacemaker his own show. “But I think there's something below that. This guy is a loud, obnoxious, bro-ey douchebag. That sucks. But why?” Gunn continued. “At what point did he become such a douchebag and what does that mean? There’s a lot to dive into there.”
Gunn’s explanation is reminiscent of another spinoff series on the Marvel side of things — Disney+’s Loki. Since Loki had always been painted as an arrogant troublemaker in the MCU, his own series gave the writers a chance to make him a sympathetic character. We can expect the same kind of transformation from Cena’s Peacemaker. Although, unlike Loki, Peacemaker will delve more into the character’s origin story. Gunn also confirmed the series will act as a prequel and a sequel to the DCEU's The Suicide Squad.
Peacemaker arrives on HBO Max this January.