Fans are anxiously awaiting James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad, as they’re ready to see a revived Task Force X take on dangers and, more than likely, lose their lives while they’re at it. Of course, if the movie weren’t exciting enough, it’s also been announced that the film will receive a TV spinoff that will be headlined by John Cena’s Peacemaker. Although plot details on the show are relatively scarce at this point, we now know that at least one of Cena’s big-screen co-stars will also be returning for the upcoming HBO Max series.
In addition to John Cena, Peacemaker will also star The Suicide Squad’s Steve Agee, who will reprise his role as John Economos, per Deadline. In the film, Economos is a wardern at Belle Reve Federal Penitentiary and also serves as an aide to government official and Task Force X creator Amanda Waller (Viola Davis). Economos is actually one of two characters that Agee plays in The Suicide Squad, as he’ll also be portraying fan-favorite villain King Shark.
Steve Agee is actually a frequent collaborator of The Suicide Squad director James Gunn, who is returning to write and direct Peacemaker. Agee previously worked with Gunn on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and Brightburn. With this, it makes sense that Gunn would choose to bring the actor back in some capacity just as he does with other actors like Sean Gunn and Michael Rooker.
The inclusion of Steve Agee’s character opens up a number of questions. One has to wonder how exactly John Economos figures into Peacemaker’s plot. Given that the show appears to take place before the events of the film, this will likely establish an integral connection between the two characters. Seeing that Peacemaker is a hero, albeit an unorthodox one, he and Economos may have a prior relationship when it comes to law enforcement. And with Economos’ relationship to Amanda Waller, it also wouldn’t be surprising if she made an appearance on the show herself.
Peacemaker is set to run for eight episodes, in what HBO Max has referred to as its “first season,” so we could get more stories from this corner of the DC Extended Universe. As previously mentioned, James Gunn will write the episodes and helm a few of them. He, Peter Safran and John Cena will also serve as executive producers on the show. The show is just one of a few DC series moving to the streamer, like that Green Lantern series.
When it comes to unconventional comic book characters, Peacemaker definitely stands as one of the most “unique.” The hero believes in keeping the peace at all costs – even if it means a few people have to die in the process.
It’ll be interesting to see how his solo TV outing shapes up, especially when it comes to its connections to The Suicide Squad. With James Gunn and John Cena involved, there’s no telling what kind of madcap comic book tale we’re in for.
