Search form

‘Peacemaker’ Origin Story with John Cena and James Gunn Gets Series Order at HBO Max

With the rallying cry, ‘Oh f*ck, it’s Peacemaker!” streaming giant greenlights action-adventure-comedy series that explore the origins of character Cena plays in upcoming ‘The Suicide Squad’ film, a man who believes in peace at any cost, including lives.

Well, I guess you can say, “F*ck, it’s Peacemaker!” Or something along the lines of, “F*ck, more Suicide Squad spinoffs!” HBO Max has just given an eight episode straight-to-series-order to the origin story, Peacemaker, based on the Peacemaker master of weapons character from the highly anticipated upcoming The Suicide Squad film. The new Max Original action-adventure-comedy series will star John Cena, reprising his role from the upcoming The Suicide Squad movie; the film’s writer/director James Gunn will write all eight episodes of the series, and  direct multiple episodes, including the first. Gunn and The Suicide Squad producer Peter Safran will serve as executive producers of the series, with Cena as co-executive producer.

Based on characters from DC, Peacemaker will be produced by Gunn’s Troll Court Entertainment and The Safran Company in association with Warner Bros. Television. Peacemaker is scheduled to begin production in early 2021, prior to Gunn beginning work writing and directing the next Guardians of the Galaxy film for Marvel, which follows the first two offerings in the franchise, Guardians of the Galaxy and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, both of which he wrote and directed.

Details about the new series are scarce, though we know it will explore the origins of the character that Cena plays 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 by Warner Bros. Pictures to hit theatres on August 6, 2021.

According to Gunn, “Peacemaker is an opportunity to delve into current world issues through the lens of this superhero/supervillain/and world’s biggest douchebag. I’m excited to expand The Suicide Squad and bring this character from the DC film universe to the full breadth of a series. And of course, to be able to work again with John, Peter, and my friends at Warner Bros. is the icing on the cake.”

Cena said, “I have said before that it has been a tremendous honor and an incredible opportunity to be part of The Suicide Squad and to work with James on what is going to be a fantastic movie. I am unbelievably excited to have the chance to team up with him again for Peacemaker. We can’t wait for fans to see this.”

“James Gunn has the unique ability to create an expansive universe while also bringing to life the soul and wit of each character,” said Casey Bloys, Chief Content Officer for HBO and HBO Max. “We look forward to a deep dive into the world of Peacemaker.”

Dan Sarto's picture

Dan Sarto is Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network.