James Gunn says ‘Peacemaker’ is essentially a ‘massive prank’ on DC Universe

Today marks the premiere of Peacemaker, the DCEU spinoff TV show that we’ve been patiently anticipating for more than a year. And according to showrunner James Gunn, if you liked John Cena’s titular character in The Suicide Squad, then you’re going to absolutely fall head over heels in love with him in this new series.

The promotional campaign for Peacemaker has made it clear that this particular project isn’t going to take itself too seriously, though to be honest, Gunn’s The Suicide Squad also perfectly maintained that vibe throughout its 132 minutes of runtime.

To that end, there’ll be tons of references and name-drops for other DCEU characters like Wonder Woman and Superman. As to why Gunn has decided to go in this direction with this show, here’s what the filmmaker recently said in an interview with ComicBook.com:

“It’s almost like playing a massive prank on the DCU. I think I can’t say there was some big thought process to it. I’m writing, and these things come up, and then I just sort of go with them. I do think that Peacemaker’s relationship to other superheroes is very specific. He is envious. He wants to be in that holy trinity of Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman. He is not. He wants to be a member of the Justice League, and they would never let him into the Justice League. He wishes that people loved him as much as they love Aquaman, but they don’t.”

That’s certainly quite the character dilemma to set up for Peacemaker, though given his inclination to achieve said peace at any cost, this isn’t going to bode well for the world of DCEU at large. Gunn further explained what other aspects of this particular antihero are comical in the context of the show, saying:

“So he believes anything and kind of picks out what he wants to believe on the Internet, which any random Joe has tweeted or put on. He also doesn’t quite understand the Internet. He’s not very well versed in the Internet, so he sees something on Facebook, and somehow he thinks that’s fact. But I think that it also serves his envy to be these things about people.”

Personally, we didn’t much care for John Cena’s character in The Justice League, which is hardly surprising given the film’s star-studded cast. Thanks to Gunn relentlessly increasing the hype factor, though, we can’t wait to see his solo journey unfold in the 8-episode HBO Max series.