John Cena To Star In ‘Peacemaker’ HBO Max Series

The Suicide Squad‘s influence on future DC Entertainment projects expands.
Variety reports John Cena will reprise his Peacemaker role from the upcoming The Suicide Squad in a HBO Max series called, appropriately enough, Peacemaker. The Suicide Squad director James Gunn is attached as a writer and is expected to direct both the pilot and several other episodes.
Created by Joe Gill and Pat Boyette for Charlton Comics in 1966, Peacemaker was Christopher Smith, a paradox of sorts as he was a pacifist willing to use violence against warlords and dictators. But, as it turns out, this seeming contradiction had a deep psychological root due to Smith’s family history. Unfortunately, it meant Smith became more and more brutal as he “collected” the souls of evil-doers into his advanced sci-fi helmet.
Chalrton went into decline by the early 1980s and, in 1983, sold most of its superheroes to DC Comics. Writer Alan Moore intended to use them for his Watchmen project. But as his story evolved and DC wanted to use the characters for their own ends, the names and personalities changed in various ways and Peacemaker’s role in Watchmen became that of the Comedian.
Peacemaker has a straight-to-series, eight episode order; meaning Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will be further delayed. The premise is described as an “action comedy” and we’d be very surprised if other Charlton heroes like Captain Atom and The Question don’t take part. In a statement, Gunn said the show “is an opportunity to delve into current world issues through the lens of this superhero/supervillain/and world’s biggest douchebag.”
Production is scheduled to begin in 2021.