John Cena stars as the title character, reprising his role fromThe Suicide Squad, withDanielle Brooks,Freddie Stroma,Chukwudi Iwuji,Jennifer Holland,Steve Agee, andRobert Patrick also starring in the first season, withFrank Grillo joining the cast in the second season. Although the character was originally slated to be killed inThe Suicide Squad, Gunn conceivedPeacemaker after noting Cena's strength as a dramatic actor, and wrote the first season while finishing the film. HBO Max ordered it straight-to-series in September 2020. Filming took place inVancouver, Canada, from January to July 2021, with Gunn directing five episodes. He chose to usehair metal songs for the series' soundtrack, including "Do Ya Wanna Taste It" byWig Wam for the dance sequence accompanying the first season's opening titles. A second season was ordered in February 2022, with Gunn again writing all episodes. The season was integrated with the DCU after Gunn was named co-CEO of DC Studios. Filming took place atTrilith Studios inAtlanta, Georgia, from April to November 2024.
Peacemaker premiered on January 13, 2022, with its first three episodes. The other five episodes of the first season were released weekly until February 17. Viewership increased with each episode and the season received mostly positive reviews. The second season premiered on August 21, 2025, and released weekly until October 9. Following the conclusion of the second season, Gunn announced there were no plans for a third season.[1] The series has been nominated for several awards, including aPrimetime Creative Arts Emmy Award. A spin-off series,Waller, is in development as part of the DCU.
Thefirst season followsChris Smith / Peacemaker after he recovers from the injuries he suffered during the events of theDC Extended Universe (DCEU) filmThe Suicide Squad (2021). Peacemaker is forced to join the mysteriousA.R.G.U.S. black ops squad "Project Butterfly",[2] who are on a mission to identify and eliminate parasitic butterfly-like creatures who have taken over human bodies around the world.[3] Thesecond season is set in theDC Universe (DCU) after the events of the DCU filmSuperman (2025).[4] It follows Peacemaker finding an alternate universe where he is a beloved hero alongside his brother and father.
John Cena asChris Smith / Peacemaker: Ajingoistic vigilante who believes in achieving peace at any cost. ShowrunnerJames Gunn called him a "piece of shit" and said he was a "superhero/supervillain/[the] world's biggest douchebag".[5][6] In thesecond season, Gunn said the character was no longer a "total asshole" and had become less obnoxious and aggressive.[7] Cena also plays an alternate heroic version of the character from Earth-2 in season 2, while Quinn Bennet portrays a younger Chris in season 1. Myles Benson portrays a younger Chris in season 2.
Freddie Stroma asAdrian Chase /Vigilante: A self-proclaimed crimefighter who looks up to Peacemaker like an older brother.[9][10] Stroma also portrays Earth-2 Vigilante in season 2.
Jennifer Holland asEmilia Harcourt: An A.R.G.U.S. agent who has a complicated relationship with Chris.[15] Holland also portrays Earth-2 Harcourt in season 2.
Auggie Smith / White Dragon (season 1, guest season 2): Peacemaker's abusivewhite supremacist father who supplies him with technology to aid his mission and is a supervillain known as the White Dragon.[15][17]
Auggie Smith / Blue Dragon (season 2): An alternate version of Peacemaker's father from Earth-2, who is a caring father and well-known superhero alongside Peacemaker and his brother Keith, who died in the main universe.
Dee Bradley Baker as the voice of Eagly: Peacemaker's pet eagle who is also his sidekick and best friend.
Elizabeth Ludlow as Keeya Adebayo: Leota's wife who is worrisome of Leota taking the job.
Nhut Le asHadley "Rip" Jagger / Judomaster: A martial-arts based bodyguard who protects the Butterflies and Royland Goff, and later becomes an A.R.G.U.S. agent. He has a personal vendetta against Peacemaker and Economos.
Annie Chang as Sophie Song (season 1): An Evergreen police detective assigned to investigate the murder of Annie Sturphausen.
Lochlyn Munro as Larry Fitzgibbon (season 1, guest season 2): An Evergreen police detective assigned to investigate the murder of Annie Sturphausen. Munro also plays Earth-2 Larry Fitzgibbon in season 2.
Christopher Heyerdahl as Caspar Locke (season 1): An informant of Murn who poses as a police captain to keep Peacemaker out of prison.
David Denman asKeith Smith / Captain Triumph (season 2): An alternative version of Chris' older brother in Earth-2 who died in the main universe as a child but is still alive in Earth-2. In Earth-2, he is a member of the Top Trio with his brother and father as Captain Triumph.
Sol Rodríguez asSasha Bordeaux (season 2): A cyborg A.R.G.U.S agent assigned to track Peacemaker by Rick Flag Sr.
Tim Meadows as Langston Fleury (season 2): An A.R.G.U.S agent assigned to survey Peacemaker. He is known for giving nicknames to everyone he works with, and cannot distinguish between bird species.
Nathan Fillion asGuy Gardner / Green Lantern (season 2): An abrasive member of the Green Lantern Corps and the Justice Gang, replacing Aquaman due to the DCU reboot.
Isabela Merced asKendra Saunders / Hawkgirl (season 2): A member of the Justice Gang with wings and various melee weapons, who is reincarnated from an alien, replacing the Flash due to the DCU reboot.
Sean Gunn asMaxwell Lord (season 2): A millionaire business magnate who provides funding to the Justice Gang.
While completing work on theDC Extended Universe (DCEU) filmThe Suicide Squad (2021) in August 2020, writer and directorJames Gunn began writing a spin-off television series centered on the characterPeacemaker portrayed byJohn Cena.[5][19]DC Films presidentWalter Hamada approached the filmmakers of the studio's film slate about creating interconnected spin-off television series for the streaming serviceHBO Max,[20] and the service orderedPeacemaker straight-to-series in September 2020. Gunn was writing all eight episodes of the first season and directing five. He andPeter Safran were set as executive producers, with Cena as co-executive producer.[5] The season was produced by Gunn'sTroll Court Entertainment andthe Safran Company in conjunction withWarner Bros. Television.[21] Matt Miller joined as an additional executive producer in December 2020.[22]
HBO Max announced a second season ofPeacemaker in February 2022, with Gunn set to write and direct all episodes.[23] That April,Discovery, Inc. and Warner Bros.' parent companyWarnerMedia merged to becomeWarner Bros. Discovery (WBD), led by president and CEODavid Zaslav. The new company was expected to restructureDC Entertainment and Zaslav began searching for an equivalent toMarvel Studios presidentKevin Feige to lead the new subsidiary.[24] Gunn and Safran were announced as the co-chairs and co-CEOs of the newly formedDC Studios at the end of October 2022.[25] A week after starting their new roles, the pair had begun working with a group of writers to develop an eight-to-ten-year plan for a newDC Universe (DCU) that would be a "soft reboot" of the DCEU.[26][27][28] Gunn and Safran said some cast members would return fromThe Suicide Squad andPeacemaker in the DCU, and a "rough memory" of those events would remain in the new universe.[29] Because Gunn was busy with his new responsibilities, the second season ofPeacemaker was put on hold by January 2023.[30]
Later in 2023, Gunn said the second season was his next project after the DCU filmSuperman (2025),[31][32] and said it would be part of the DCU'sChapter One: Gods and Monsters slate of content.[33] He stated that the first season was notcanon to the DCU,[4] but later clarified that most of the first season's events are canon to the DCU except for specific moments such as the appearance of the DCEU'sJustice League.[34] In March 2024, Gunn said filming for the second season would take place simultaneously withSuperman later that year, in the interest of getting the season ready as soon as possible, so he was no longer able to direct all of the episodes.[35]
The 11th Street Kids (Team Peacemaker) are played by John Cena (Peacemaker), Danielle Brooks (Adebayo), Freddie Stroma (Vigilante), Jennifer Holland (Harcourt), and Steve Agee (Economos)
With the series order in September 2020, John Cena was confirmed to be reprising his role asPeacemaker fromThe Suicide Squad.[5] The next month, Gunn's close friendSteve Agee joined the series asJohn Economos, also returning from the film.[16] In November, Gunn's then-girlfriendJennifer Holland joined as herThe Suicide Squad character Emilia Harcourt, alongsideDanielle Brooks as Leota Adebayo,Robert Patrick as Auggie Smith, andChris Conrad asAdrian Chase / Vigilante.[8][15] Holland was surprised that Gunn brought her character back for the series, believing that her part inThe Suicide Squad would be a short one-off role.[36]Chukwudi Iwuji joined the cast as Clemson Murn in December.[11] In late May 2021,Freddie Stroma was cast to replace Conrad as Adrian Chase / Vigilante, after Conrad left the series due to creative differences.[9]
Cena confirmed that he would be returning for the second season when it was ordered in February 2022.[23] In July 2023, Gunn said Stroma would reprise his role as Vigilante in the DCU.[37] Also reprising their roles from the first season are Brooks, Holland, and Agee.[38] In May 2024,Frank Grillo joined the cast for the second season asRick Flag Sr., reprising his role from the DCU animated seriesCreature Commandos (2024–present).[18]Sol Rodríguez,David Denman, andTim Meadows were cast the following month, with Rodríguez portrayingSasha Bordeaux and Meadows cast as Langston Fleury.[39][40]Michael Rooker was revealed in May 2025 to be appearing as an original character named Red St. Wild. Rooker previously had small roles inThe Suicide Squad andCreature Commandos.[7]
Gunn revealed in June 2021 thatClint Mansell andKevin Kiner were composing the score for the series,[51] afterThe Suicide Squad composerJohn Murphy was busy writing the score for Gunn'sGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023).[52] A soundtrack album featuring Mansell and Kiner's score was released on February 18, 2022.[53] The first season also featureshair metal songs that Gunn selected and wrote into the scripts.[6][54]
Peacemaker premiered on HBO Max on January 13, 2022,[58] with its first three episodes.[59] The series was released in the United Kingdom on March 22, onSky Max andNow.[60] The second season premiered on HBO Max on August 21, 2025.[61]
Deadline Hollywood reported that each episode ofPeacemaker received higher viewership than the last,[62] and HBO Max stated that the season finale's viewership was 44 percent higher than the series premiere's. According to the service, the finale broke the record for highest single day viewership of an HBO Max original episode.[63] In the UK, wherePeacemaker was not released until after it had finished airing in the US,[60] the series was the third-mostpirated for the first quarter of 2022 afterHBO'sEuphoria andDisney+'sThe Book of Boba Fett.[64]
According toSamba TV, 22% more U.S. households watched the premiere of the second season than the finale of the first season.[65]
On thereview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, 93% of 91 critics' reviews for the first season are positive. The website's consensus reads: "John Cena's still in solid form as Peacemaker, leading a bloody good time that gives writer-director James Gunn full permission to let his freak flag fly."[66]Metacritic, which uses aweighted average, assigned the season a score of 70 out of 100, based on 26 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[67] The title sequence was praised,[70][71][72] with critics also highlighting Gunn's sense of fun and "raunchy humor", and Cena's performance. Some found other characters and story elements to be underdeveloped.[73]
On Rotten Tomatoes, 94% of 146 critics' reviews for the second season are positive. The website's consensus reads: "Peacemaker's second season goes multidimensional while still maintaining a singular focus on emotional stakes, seamlessly transporting this outrageous antihero into a fresh cinematic universe."[68] Metacritic assigned the season a score of 78 out of 100, based on 18 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[69] Critics found the season to be better than the first, calling it "just as dark, brutal, and silly" but more grounded, character focused, and heartwarming, with praise for Cena's performance and the wider cast.[74]
HBO Max and DC worked with production companyRooster Teeth to produce an official,aftershow-style video podcast titledPodly. Hosted by Fiona Nova and Ify Nwadiwe, each episode includes a recap of one of the first season's episodes as well as interviews with cast and crew. The video podcast was made available to stream on HBO Max andYouTube, with an audio-only version available via audio platforms.[80]
Gunn announcedPeacemaker: The Official Podcast with James Gunn in July 2025, a new companion podcast for the series featuring himself and the cast. It begins with a rewatch of the first season, including discussion of what parts of the first season are DCU canon, followed by a new podcast episode after each of the second season's episodes. The podcast is being made available on HBO Max, YouTube, and audio platforms.[81]
In January 2021,James Gunn said he had ideas for moreThe Suicide Squad television spin-offs beyondPeacemaker,[82] and confirmed that he was working on another one a year later.[83] In May 2022, a series featuring Amanda Waller was revealed, withViola Davis in negotiations to reprise her DCEU role. Christal Henry was writing the series, which was expected to build off Waller's guest appearances inPeacemaker.[84] The next month, Gunn said the series that he had revealed earlier was separate from a potential Amanda Waller project though there would be "some blending" of characters fromPeacemaker in both.[85] On January 31, Gunn and Safran unveiled the first projects from their DCU slate, which begins with Chapter One: Gods and Monsters. The second project in the slate wasWaller, with Davis confirmed to be reprising her role. Henry was revealed to be working on the overall story for the DCU with Gunn and some other writers, and was set as co-showrunner ofWaller alongsideJeremy Carver.[30] The spin-off is expected to be made after the second season ofPeacemaker.[35]
In 2024, a tie-in non-canonical[86] comic,Peacemaker Presents: The Vigilante/Eagly Double Feature! was announced. The comic centered aroundPeacemaker charactersVigilante and Eagly in two stories. Gunn was a story consultant on the comic, which was written byRex Ogle andTim Seeley with art by Matteo Lolli and Mitch Gerads. The comic released monthly from March through August 2025.[87][88]
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