Even before The Suicide Squad hit theaters and HBO Max, it was known that one of the (anti-)heroes in the movie, John Cena’s Peacemaker, would be getting a TV spinoff. We now have a first-look image from the show.
Entertainment Weekly has an exclusive image from the Peacemaker series which includes a couple of familiar faces for anyone who has seen The Suicide Squad.
Massive Spoilers for The Suicide Squad Below
In James Gunn’s Suicide Squad reboot, Peacemaker and Bloodsport (Idris Elba) have something of a not-so-friendly rivalry that culminates in a shootout towards the end of the film. Bloodsport shoots Peacemaker through the neck, but a post-credits stinger revealed that Peacemaker survived the shootout and is recruited by Amanda Waller’s subordinates to save the world from some new threat.
And the first image basically picks off from there. Cena’s Peacemaker is back up and running, and he’s sitting at a table with some folks from Waller’s office including Economos and Harcourt, as well as another costumed character, Vigilante.
this team may not look like much, but im a member of it so you know its absolutely elite #peacemaker https://t.co/jMA59Okx6c pic.twitter.com/PKGieqjhdt
— Peacemaker on HBO Max (@DCpeacemaker) September 13, 2021
Gunn says he’s not a fan of bringing back characters after they seemingly died, but he became his worst enemy to get Peacemaker his show. “I did exactly the thing I hate when other filmmakers do [it],” Gunn told EW. “But I did it! I’ll have to live with the repercussions, which is the most incredible TV show people will ever see.”
Peacemaker is set to premiere in January 2022 with an eight-episode season. He’ll team up with three new characters, a mercenary named Murn, the character Vigilante, and a character named Adebayo.
Gunn wrote all episodes of Peacemaker and directed five of the season’s episodes. Meanwhile, Gunn is still working on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 after becoming re-united with Marvel. Check out IGN’s The Suicide Squad review where we praised Gunn’s irreverent take on the DC villain-verse.
Matt T.M. Kim is IGN's News Editor. You can reach him @lawoftd.