New Character Details Reportedly Revealed For James Gunn's PEACEMAKER HBO Max Series
James Gunn and John Cena are teaming back up with Warner Bros., and DC Entertainment to develop a spinoff series for The Suicide Squad titled Peacemaker. This series will center around Cena’s character who will be making his debut in The Suicide Squad.
Gunn is writing the series and he will direct multiple episodes, including the pilot. HBO Max has ordered eight episodes of the show, and it’s described as “an action adventure comedy. The exact plot of the series is being kept under wraps, but it is said it will explore the origins of Peacemaker, a man who believes in peace at any cost, no matter how many people he has to kill to get it.”
Cena will be joined by Steve Agee (Guardians of The Galaxy Vol. 2) who will reprise his role as John Economos from The Suicide Squad. Economos is an aide to Amanda Waller. Other cast members include Danielle Brooks, Chris Conrad, Jennifer Holland, and Robert Patrick.
Conrad will play the villain in the series, Adrian Chase a.k.a. The Vigilante. Chase was a NYC district attorney before his family was killed by the mob. After they were murdered, he used his superpowered healing factor and combat expertise to dole out “justice” as Vigilante.
Holland will reprise her role from The Suicide Squad, NSA Agent Emilia Harcourtbe, an operative who works alongside the organization A.R.G.U.S. to keep Task Force X in line.
Then there’s Patrick who will be playing Auggie Smith and Brooks who will play a character named Leota Adebayo. Thanks to The Illuminardi, we have some details on these two characters to share with you.
Leota Adebayo is a series regular described as “smart, driven, full-figured and capable, but with her fair share of insecurities…A newcomer who isn’t treated well by the others”.
Auggie Smith is also a series regular and he is the father of Christopher Smith. This character is described as “a strongly opinionated, vulgar, small-town racist who is powerful and cunning.”
The report then offers some speculation on what kind of story the series might tell. Based on what is in the comics, they explain that the series could be a father and son story. This is their breakdown:
Another interesting facet of Auggie’s character is how close he falls in line with Peacemaker’s father in the comics, Wolfgang Schmidt. Schmidt was a Nazi who ran a concentration camp during the war, something that Christopher witnessed in his youth. In 1955, Wolfgang committed suicide after his the crimes he had comitted came to light, though his story would not end with his death
After passing away, visions of Wolfgang came to Peacemaker many times, pushing him to a more unhinged, violent and merciless state. His relationship with his father’s ghost and the trauma he experienced at a young age would come to define Christopher Smith, paving the way for his evolution into Peacemaker.
Given that these names aren’t simply codenames or placeholders, James Gunn has clearly taken some creative liberties with the character (i.e. the name change, the apparent backstory alterations), but the core concepts remain intact. Peacemaker’s dad in the DCEU is a powerful racist with a strong influence on the life and story of his son.
While this following theory is purely speculation, I can’t help but wonder if Peacemaker might fall for Leota Adebayo, leading to conflict between father and son? Additionally, while it isn’t clear what Leota is a “newcomer” to, there is one obvious answer.
In the comics, “Project: Peacemaker” was a secret government operation that gave birth to Christopher Smith’s alter-ego. Could the DCEU version of that project be the driving story of this HBO Max series, and might Leota Adebayo be recruited for that project?
It’ll be interesting to see what Gunn has planned for this series. Whatever it is, whatever it ends up being, I’m sure that it’ll offer some great entertainment. What do you think the story will entail?