Don’t get me wrong, I like John Cena as much as the next guy, but I did not think he had this in him.
James Gunn has been talking up Peacemaker season 2 like it’s a bigger key to the DCU than even Superman was, and fortunately for him, he appears to have crafted yet another hit. His highest scoring ever, in fact. As it stands, Peacemaker season 2 has a certified fresh 100% on Rotten Tomatoes from a full three dozen critics. Season 1 was also highly rated with a 92%, but this is next level.
There are no MCU or DCEU movies or shows with perfect 100% scores, so this is currently a record in that department, at least for this second season. This is the third “canon” DCU project that’s airing after Creature Commandos went first (95% score) and then the huge Superman movie (83% score). It is reminiscent of James Gunn’s own filmography, in which he has not directed a poorly reviewed superhero project across Marvel or DC to date.
Peacemaker season 2 is going to be…complicated. Here, Gunn is trying to use the show as a bridge to keep aspects of his corner of the DCEU canon in the DCU, namely Peacemaker hiumself and that whole cast, plus perhaps some elements of his Suicide Squad movie in which Peacemaker debuted.
The idea here seems to be some sort of universe-hopping development where we know Peacemaker meets an alternate version of himself. Gunn has said many, many times in interviews that Peacemaker is going to be key in establishing canon and he’s even said that he hasn’t shown the last few episodes to almost everyone given how big they’re going to be. Again, this is the second season of a show based on a side-character of a movie that was a big box office flop and now part of a dead universe. I’m not saying that to be insulting, I’m saying that because it makes all this even more impressive.
Peacemaker forging canon has brought up other topics, like Gunn has said that he’s hoping to get Idris Elba’s Bloodsport back in the DCU. He also didn’t rule out Margot Robbie returning as Harley Quinn despite already doing a full three DCEU movies, including his own, but said we’d have to wait and see on that one, and it may be a longshot. Plus, the further you go there, you get into weird questions like well, if Robbie’s Harley is canon, is Jared Leto’s Joker canon? Is Ben Affleck’s Batman canon? The answer is almost certainly no, but where do you draw the line? That’s Gunn’s job, but it’s very clear he doesn’t want to leave all his older DC buddies behind, and Cena in particular is going to be with him until the end. Gunn even played coy about a possible Peacemaker solo film.
For now, season 2 of Peacemaker releases on August 21, 2025 on HBO Max, and will air weekly after that.
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Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.
