Amazingly enough, even though James Gunn's highly anticipated superhero(ish) sequel The Suicide Squad isn't due to hit theaters until August 2021, Warner Bros. is already setting up that franchise's future. John Cena fans will be delighted to hear that his still-mysterious Peacemaker character is officially getting his very own TV spinoff.
HBO Max has put in a straight-to-series order for Peacemaker, which will feature John Cena reprising his role from The Suicide Squad. The first season of the action-adventure-comedy series will be eight episodes. (And yes, HBO Max's announcement refers to it the "first season," so that's a good sign it won't be the last.) Cena definitely won't be the only person from the film jumping on board the streaming TV show, either.
While it's not yet known if any other stars from the film will be returning for the TV venture, director and screenwriter James Gunn will also be heavily involved in HBO Max's Peacemaker. Not only will he be executive producing alongside his Squad mate Peter Safran – with John Cena also co-executive producing – but Gunn will also be scripting all eight episodes of the first season. He is also on board to direct multiple episodes, including the series premiere, though a finalized number wasn't indicated.
Check out James Gunn's social media reaction to the news below:
There isn't an official logline yet, and there aren't a whole lot of details to go by, but Peacemaker will be an origin story for John Cena's deadly AF character, who aims to deliver peace by any means necessary, regardless of how many bodies drop in the meantime. Given that it'll presumably be mostly backstory, fans don't have to make quick assumptions that he'll be a survivor when The Suicide Squad's credits roll. He might die in the first five minutes after Harley Quinn knocks his head off his shoulders. Who knows?!?
What we do know, however, is that Peacemaker is a "douchebag," and WWE vet John Cena is happy to fill that role. Here's what Cena had to say in the official announcement:
I have said before that it has been a tremendous honor and an incredible opportunity to be part of The Suicide Squad and to work with James on what is going to be a fantastic movie. I am unbelievably excited to have the chance to team up with him again for Peacemaker. We can’t wait for fans to see this.
The plan is currently for Peacemaker to start up its production in early 2021, presumably while the post-production process is in full swing for The Suicide Squad. It'll be the very next thing he works on, which is happening before he starts up on Guardians of the Galaxy 3, though it's not entirely clear if that Marvel sequel is being pushed back at all, or if Gunn already had that entire time window blocked off for Suicide Squad. It's not like John Cena isn't already busy enough himself, with several other projects on the horizon that fall outside the comic book world.
No details yet on when Peacemaker might hit HBO Max, and the fact that it's an origin story doesn't really help determine if it will come before or after The Suicide Squad hits theaters on August 6, 2021. Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for more information as it becomes available, and head to our Fall TV 2020 premiere schedule to see what new and returning shows are debuting soon.
