Peacemaker Season 2 Was Almost Completely Different, but James Gunn’s Superman Changed Things

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In the second season of “Peacemaker”, John Cena’s character Chris Smith is on a journey to reconcile with himself. The story unfolds post-“Superman” in James Gunn’s HBO Max series, where Rick Flag Sr., played by Frank Grillo, is seeking revenge for his son’s death at the hands of Peacemaker. The target of his wrath also happens to possess a dimensional portal similar to Lex Luthor’s, which they discover is none other than Peacemaker himself. In 2021’s “The Suicide Squad”, Peacemaker had killed Flag Jr., and he inherited the Quantum Unfolding Chamber from his white supremacist father, Auggie Smith, who was the armored villain known as White Dragon.

In the trailer, Chris is heard saying, “I’m planning to build a life in another realm.” This part of the trailer hints at a different dimension where the masked warrior is celebrated as a genuine hero. At the same time, Flag organizes a team to seal a portal similar to the one that disrupted Metropolis and reality itself, as depicted in Superman.

James Gunn Reveals Alternate Peacemaker Season 2 Villains

In an alternate universe, I found myself eagerly anticipating a dramatically transformed second season of “Peacemaker”. John Cena’s creator, James Gunn, had envisioned a narrative where Auggie’s gang, the ruthless Aryan Empire, would step into the spotlight as the antagonists. Driven by their Grand Dragon’s thirst for vengeance, they were determined to wreak havoc and challenge our hero.

Initially, my initial draft for Season 2 was centered around additional white supremacist superheroes seeking revenge on Peacemaker for killing their ally, his father. However, during the Crew Call podcast, Gunn explained that this idea felt too similar to Season 1 and he wanted to give the story a more surprising twist.

In the second season, Gunn envisioned Peacemaker as a character grappling with the consequences of his actions from the previous season, while also delving into the emotional turmoil brought about by the inner demons he uncovered.

as a child, he unintentionally killed his brother Keith and later killed his father when the character Auggie attacked Peacemaker in disguise as the White Dragon. However, by introducing an adult Keith (David Denman) in this alternate universe, Gunn can delve into “how does he confront his inner demons?” and this approach seems more effective for that purpose.

In the first season of “Peacemaker,” we saw the QUC, but it wasn’t until following the release of “Superman” that Gunn came up with the concept to delve deeper into an additional layer, specifically, another dimension of Chris Smith.

Initially, I penned a story about Superman and later found myself drawn into the concept of Peacemaker. When the thought struck me for an alternate reality and how we’d handle it, I decided against exploring it in a manner similar to what’s been portrayed in comic book films involving multiple universes. Instead, as I explained, “It isn’t the multiverse.

In Gunn’s words, “The book I adore that’s similar to this feels like Philip Roth’s The Counterlife. It explores the concept of an alternate life distinct from our own and the struggles in dealing with it. The character Peacemaker encounters a reality strikingly better than his, yet emotionally, he grapples with accepting it while also confronting ghosts from his past – the people he loved and lost or hurt.

The second season of the hit show “Peacemaker” featuring stars like John Cena, Danielle Brooks, Jennifer Holland, Freddie Stroma, Steve Agee, Robert Patrick, Frank Grillo, David Denman, Sol Rodriguez, and Tim Meadows will begin airing every Thursday at 9:00 p.m. Eastern/Pacific Time on HBO Max.

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2025-08-23 16:10