HBO Max has ordered a series spinoff of James Gunn's upcoming film The Suicide Squad. Titled Peacemaker, the show will star John Cena, with Gunn set to write all of the first season's eight episodes in addition to directing some of them.
The series is set to delve into the origin story of the character that Cena will portray in the film, which is still scheduled for August 2021. In a 2019 interview Cena described Peacemaker as a "douchey Captain America."
That three-word description may already be enough to get you interested, but here's a little more info. The character is said to "believe in peace at any cost, no matter how many people he has to kill to get it," according to a press release announcing this new series.
Specifics are guarded at the moment, but both Gunn and Cena released statements that may allow you to extract something.
“Peacemaker is an opportunity to delve into current world issues through the lens of this superhero/supervillain/and world’s biggest douchebag," Gunn said. "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 [Safran], and my friends at Warner Bros. is the icing on the cake.”
Cena added to that, saying, "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.”
The show will mark the latest instance of HBO Max and DC Comics pairing together to offer original programming. It follows previous announcements that the streamer will make a spinoff of the upcoming Batman film from Matt Reeves, and also the relocation of Doom Patrol, Harley Quinn, Titans, Swamp Thing, Stargirl, and Young Justice to the recently launched service.
In addition to their positions as writer and star, Gunn will also serve as an executive producer (as will the aformentioned producer of The Suicide Squad, Peter Safran), while Cena will co-executive produce.
Peacemaker is slated to begin production in early 2021, before Gunn will start up on the next film in Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy series.
