Peacemaker Season 1 was made when the DC Extended Universe was still around. So although Season 2 has been incorporated into the DC Universe and is a few days away from premiering on the 2025 TV schedule, the HBO Max show’s placement in this new franchise means aspects of Season 1 are no longer canon. The most notable example of this is the Justice League cameo in the Season 1 finale, but fresh off of meeting Superman and Supergirl on the 2025 movies schedule, Peacemaker creator and DC Studios co-head James Gunn has revealed one superhero who isn’t necessarily part of this continuity right now.
In the Peacemaker: The Official Podcast with James Gunn episode covering the Peacemaker Season 1 finale, Gunn and actors Jennifer Holland (also his wife) and Steve Agee brought up the mention of Green Arrow in a… rather unflattering light. But it’s currently up in the air whether or not that moment remains canon in the DCU, with Gunn saying:
Is Green Arrow canon? I don’t know. I’m not willing to say yet. We don’t really know. We don’t have Green Arrow as part of our system right now. So maybe Green Arrow exists, maybe he doesn’t, I’m not sure.
The DCU has also introduced characters like the Creature Commandos, Guy Gardner, Hawkgirl and Mr. Terrific within the last nine months, and we know that Hal Jordan, John Stewart, Batman, Wonder Woman, Clayface, Lobo and Booster Gold are among the others lined up to appear in upcoming DC movies and upcoming DC TV shows. But as far as Green Arrow goes, he hasn’t factored into James Gunn’s plans for this franchise yet. So it’ll be up to individual viewers to decide if that mention of Oliver Queen’s masked persona is canon until Gunn makes an official decision on his DC status.
That said, maybe it would be for the best if Green Arrow doesn’t exist in this world just yet. In “It’s Cow or Never,” John Cena’s Christopher Smith claimed that the Emerald Archer “goes to Brony conventions dressed as the back half of Twilight Sparkle with a four-inch wide butthole drilled into the costume.” It was one of many ridiculous statements Smith made about DC superheroes in Peacemaker Season 1, though Steve Agee’s John Economos said he’s heard this rumor was true too. While there were surely plenty of fans who laughed at that joke, Arrow star Stephen Amell “didn’t fuckin’ appreciate it at all.”
The Justice League cameo and a few superhero mentions aside, the majority of Peacemaker Season 1 remains intact as we go into Season 2, so refresh yourself on what went down before this new batch of episodes kicks off on HBO Max. It’d also be wise to watch Superman either digitally or at your local theater, as Season 2 takes place a month after those events.
