James Gunn Says He "Hates" Those PEACEMAKER Cameos in BLACK ADAM and SHAZAM 2, Promises Clarity in Season 2
James Gunn continues to draw a line between the old DCEU and his new DCU, but the situation has been anything but simple. The filmmaker admits that certain cameos and references from the past era have only made things more confusing, and he’s not thrilled about it.
In a recent interview with Den of Geek, Gunn promised that Peacemaker Season 2 will finally sort out the messy continuity fans have been scratching their heads over. Gunn explained:
“There are certain things from the old universe that we refer to in Peacemaker season 2, but until then, they’re not canon. Almost everything from season 1 is canon, but season 2 will explain everything that is or is not canon.”
That means the weird limbo Peacemaker currently exists in, caught between two cinematic universes, will finally be addressed. For now, though, Gunn has made it clear what’s out: those cameos in Shazam! Fury of the Gods and Black Adam.
“They’re not canon! I hate it!” Gunn said, adding that he previously had “no idea” why characters like Harcourt and Economos were recruiting for the Justice Society in those films.
It’s a fair point. Right now, remnants of the DCEU keep bleeding into the reboot, and for fans hoping for a clean slate, the result is pure chaos.
Still, Gunn is confident that Season 2 of Peacemaker will bring order to the madness. The upcoming episodes will explore John Cena’s unhinged hero as he officially crosses into the DCU, and based on the latest trailer, things are going to get wild.
Gunn confirmed that the new season will dive deep into the concept of “pocket universes,” an idea first introduced in his upcoming Superman film.
When asked about the pocket universes, Gunn replied: “The whole [second] season of Peacemaker revolves around that. Yes, absolutely it is. You’ll see in Peacemaker [season 2], too… It’s just Lex’s version is much jankier than the one in Peacemaker. The one in Peacemaker works better. What the whole season of Peacemaker revolves around is that.”
Gunn wants fans to know this isn’t a typical multiverse mashup like Spider-Man: No Way Home. He described his approach as something more intimate:
“I think of Peacemaker as more of a high-concept story about one other world. It’s more akin to Philip Roth’s [1996 novel] The Counterlife than it is to the third Spider-Man movie… I love that movie, but it isn’t about that.
“It isn’t Deadpool & Wolverine. It’s really a very simple, simple story about [Chris Smith’s] relationship to this one other world.”
While Gunn is keeping big-picture DCU details under wraps, he recently teased that there’s a central narrative thread connecting these projects, something nobody has guessed yet.
“It’s not what anyone thinks. It’s not what anyone would guess. But I think if people watch the next season of Peacemaker, they’ll see where a lot of these things are going, and have a little bit more of a sense of maybe what can happen.”
Peacemaker Season 2 hits HBO on August 21, and if Gunn is to be believed, this is where all the confusion finally gets sorted out.