It's been confirmed that the first trailer for HBO Max's Peacemaker series will debut during DC FanDome next week (we got a first glimpse of some footage in yesterday's promo), and writer/director James Gunn has now shared some new key art for his upcoming The Suicide Squad spinoff.
The poster features star John Cena decked out in his costume (sorry, uniform) as the now fully-recovered Christopher Smith, and the tagline: "Give Peace a F*cking Chance."
We know from The Suicide Squad's post-credits scene that A.R.G.U.S. wants Smith to help them "save the f*cking world," but we're still not sure what kind of threat the team will be facing. Gunn wasn't giving anything away when it comes to plot specifics during a recent interview, but he did reveal why he settled on Peacemaker for his own spinoff series.
“At the end of The Suicide Squad, [Idris Elba’s] Bloodsport learns a lot. He’s a better person than he was at the beginning. A lot of the characters are much better than they were at the beginning, and Peacemaker has a lot to learn,” explained the filmmaker. “It’s that ability to learn that for me makes him a little bit more likable. His blindspots in some places are pretty terrible, and in some places are him being ignorant. I think that’s an important distinction to make as well. He is open at the same time, sometimes.”
Cena also commented on his imminent return to the role, joking that “it is definitely in my contract to lose a fight in every project I do and definitely to be in a scene with a CGI animal.” At the time, we thought this might be referring to the return of Ratcatcher 2 and Sebastian or maybe even Weasel or King Shark, but it's since come to light that Smith will be given a pet sidekick of his own: Eagle-y the eagle!
Peacemaker will also star Danielle Brooks, Steve Agee, Chris Conrad, and Chukwudi Iwuji. Specific plot details are still under wraps, but we do know that the series will explore the origins of Cena's titular DC Comics villain/antihero, a man who believes in peace at any cost, no matter how many people he has to kill to get it.
Gunn is writing and directing the show, which was ordered to series last September. No official premiere date has been announced, but Peacemaker is expected to hit HBO Max next January.