James Gunn Has a Promising Update on ‘Peacemaker’ Season 2’s Progress

Roughly two years after Peacemaker was officially greenlit for a second season, James Gunn has a promising update on its progress.

Peacemaker premiered on January 13, 2022, and made history as the first official TV series within the DC Universe (DCU). Additionally, it marked the first spin-off of James Gunn’s 2021 film, The Suicide Squad. Peacemaker received a very positive reception, rising to popularity for the same reasons that The Suicide Squad did. It’s gritty, dark, vulgar, hilarious, and surprisingly touching, with nuanced and layered characters. The series follows Peacemaker (John Cena) after he is released from the hospital following the events of The Suicide Squad. Of course, given his criminal history, he’s not going to walk free and quickly gets sucked into another black ops project just to stay out of prison.

Peacemaker‘s success led to a speedy season 2 renewal. After its renewal, Gunn was named co-CEO of DC Studios alongside Peter Safran. As a result, Gunn has been a bit preoccupied with planning the first Chapter of the new DC Universe and finishing Superman: Legacy. Although the show was confirmed to be a part of the new DCU, it has been on the back burner for a while. However, Gunn recently shared an update that raises hope that progress on Peacemaker season 2 may pick up soon.

James Gunn has an exciting Peacemaker season 2 update

Gunn has confirmed that writing on season 2 is complete! Gunn didn’t provide many details about the script but confirmed that Culture Crave’s statement that the scripts were complete was “accurate.” Additionally, he did tease that the show will have a new intro sequence, given that a lot of characters in season 1’s intro died during the season.

Peacemaker season 2 still doesn’t have an official release date, but the completion of the scripts means it is heading in the right direction. Although it’s not expected to release until after Superman: Legacy, a late 2025 release date is possible at the earliest.

Who will be in Peacemaker season 2?

The cast of Peacemaker season 2 has not been confirmed yet. However, it is safe to assume that the majority of the characters who made it out alive in the first season will be returning. Cena’s Peacemaker is obviously returning. Additionally, the main members of Project Butterfly are also anticipated to return as they built up quite a rapport during the first season. Jennifer Holland’s Emilia Harcourt is expected to return as the series potentially further explores the budding connection between her and Peacemaker. Peacemaker’s obsessive BFF, Vigilante (Freddie Stroma), is also anticipated to appear, as he’s never far from wherever Peacemaker is.

Amanda Waller’s (Viola Davis) daughter, Leota Adebayo (Danielle Brooks), will likely return, too, as she admitted in season 1 that she was “made for” the kind of gritty, difficult work Project Butterfly did. Steve Agee’s John Economos started to show a love for Black Ops work, too, and will likely want to join in on the newest mission. These five characters came out of Peacemaker season 1 as friends, or maybe even family and season 2 wouldn’t be complete without them.

Three other characters who could also return are Leota’s wife, Keeya Adebayo (Elizabeth Ludlow), Judomaster (Nhut Le), and Waller. In the end, Leota is still with Keeya, Judomaster is alive and vengeful, and Waller can’t stay out of anyone’s business for long, boding well for their returns. Eagly (Dee Bradley Baker), who is arguably the best character in the series, is also expected to return. However, all of the “butterflies,” such as Chukwudi Iwuji’s Clemson Murn and Annie Chang’s Sophie Song, are believed to be dead at the end of season 2 and are unlikely to return. However, certain dead characters, like Peacemaker’s father, White Dragon (Robert Patrick), may return as memories/ghosts to haunt the living. No new cast members have been announced for season 2 yet.

What is Peacemaker season 2 about?

So far, there have been no hints as to what Peacemaker season 2’s plot could be. With the butterflies defeated, it is unknown who, or what, season 2’s villain will be. However, based on season 1, there are a lot of directions season 2 could go. Some exciting points it could cover are the aftermath of Peacemaker’s father’s death and Waller being exposed by her daughter. While Waller has been vastly disliked and, at times, undermined by her inner circle, she has always done what’s necessary to save face. She has hidden her unethical acts and been a master of manipulation in the shadows. It is impossible to predict what her public outing could mean, but there are bound to be some interesting consequences.

Meanwhile, Peacemaker’s storyline with his father was unresolved. In season 1, he only begins to touch on the surface of his childhood trauma from his abusive, racist father and the death of his brother. Now, Peacemaker has the deaths of both his brother and his father weighing on him and is tormented by the illusion of his father taunting him. On top of that, he is haunted by the death of Rick Flagg (Joel Kinnaman) and doesn’t even know if he wants to kill anymore. While he does end up killing a lot of people, he doesn’t ever really address or solve the doubts he has. His father’s and Flagg’s deaths are two things he’ll have to face eventually as, especially in his line of work, he can’t afford the risk of being unfocused or unhinged by the past.

Season 2 can also continue to tell the stories of the rest of the black ops crew. season 1 left off with Harcourt seemingly learning to walk again after a traumatic injury, while Leota exposed her mother and reunited with her wife, and Economos started a new job. They were all profoundly changed by the events of season 1, and it will be exciting to see how they continue developing and growing, both as individuals and as a team.

(featured image: HBO Max)