John Cena says that James Gunn fully intended to kill Peacemaker at the end of The Suicide Squad, but the two had so much fun working together that Gunn decided to break his biggest rule.
"James didn’t have me in mind at first. And then he killed me in The Suicide Squad," Cena explained at Fan Expo Denver (via PopVerse). "And we had so much fun making that movie, he broke his rule of never bring back someone you killed. So, for someone to expect very little out of me and choose me last, and for me to make such an impression on such a brilliant creative mind that he breaks a cardinal rule that he has, and for us to go on to do good work together and develop a great friendship, man, that’s one hell of a day at the office."
You might recall that Peacemaker does seemingly die at the end of The Suicide Squad... until a post-credits scene reveals that he is, in fact, alive (albeit very injured). A TV show based on the hero, which picks up after the events of The Suicide Squad, hit HBO Max in 2022. Though the series premiered prior to Gunn and Peter Safran's takeover of the DCU, it became the only project to remain canon despite the complete overhaul (which included recasting several classic DC superheroes).
The second season sees Peacemaker not only dive straight into the multiverse, but deal with the fact that Frank Grillo's Rick Flag Sr. wants to hunt him down for killing his son Rick Flag Jr. in The Suicide Squad.
Peacemaker season 2 is set to hit HBO Max on August 21. For more, check out our guide to all of the upcoming titles in DCU Chapter One: Gods and Monsters and all other upcoming DC movies to put on your release radar.
