The best shows don't need to have riotous amounts of violence, swearing and general profanity, but there's no point pretending we don't enjoy it a little when they do. There are plenty of shows out there, after all, on the best streaming services, that don't provide that same visceral kick of blood and guts. So, when a show does make it a priority, that's something to be celebrated a little.
That's exactly what's being done with HBO's launch trailer for Peacemaker Season 2, which arrives imminently on 21 August. The trailer is marked as a "redband" one, meaning it's got plenty of all the aforementioned rudeness, so maybe don't watch it if you're particularly sensitive to that sort of thing – and potentially skip the show, too, since this is a fairly accurate representation of its tone.
We get a look at what John Cena as Peacemaker has been up to since saving the world in the last season of his show, and it seems like he might be in something of a rut, hiding out and trying to have a good time without responsibilities. Except, of course, that can't last, because Rick Flag Sr. is out for vengeance and, well, blood – hunting down Peacemaker with a whole lot of resources behind him.
In fairness, with access to a device that lets him step through portals and access the multiverse, Peacemaker isn't exactly the most trustworthy person to leave with that sort of power. It'll be curious to see how showrunner James Gunn fits all of this into his wider plan for the new DC cinematic universe, too, now that it's kicked off with Superman.
This will likely remain the most profane and mature of the DC universe's projects, you'd assume, but given that this very trailer refers to the universe continuing through the show, it's clear that it's going to tie in to more family-friendly franchises in at least some way. Threading that needle will be very interesting.
In fact, Gunn's already clarified that some of what happened in the last season won't end up being canonical – whereas everything from now onwards definitely will be. He includes the swear-word filled appearance of the Justice League in that bucket, as something that now didn't happen. Anything that's even mentioned in this season, though, automatically becomes canon.
Is that simple enough? Well, you can find out more by actually tuning into the show, which'll hit HBO Max in the US and and Sky or Now here in the UK (via an entertainment pass on the latter).
