(Note: This post contains potential spoilers for Peacemaker Season 2.)
Peacemaker Season 2, Episode 1 is now streaming on HBO Max.
In the recap of Season 2, Episode 1, it is revealed that Season 1 is officially canon to the DCU, with the Justice League being replaced by the Justice Gang.
James Gunn, the showrunner of Peacemaker, has officially retconned the ending of Peacemaker Season 1. The Justice League has been replaced with the Justice Gang, which includes Mr. Terrific (Edi Gathegi), Green Lantern (Nathan Fillion), Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced), Superman (David Corenswet), and Supergirl (Milly Alcock).
In Peacemaker Season 1, the main threat came from “butterflies,” an alien race that took over human bodies and relied on a massive alien Cow for food. Peacemaker (John Cena) and his team killed the Cow, ending the invasion. At the end of the season, the Justice League appeared—featuring Superman (Henry Cavill), Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot), Aquaman (Jason Momoa), and The Flash (Ezra Miller). While Cavill and Gadot were represented by stand-ins, Momoa and Miller filmed real cameos, and Peacemaker mocked them, saying, “You’re late, you fucking dickheads.” This scene followed Leota Adebayo (Danielle Brooks) calling her mother, Amanda Waller (Viola Davis), to summon the team, though they arrived too late, forcing Peacemaker’s “11th Street Kids” to handle the situation.
For Peacemaker Season 2, several retcons have been made. The original animated opening has been replaced with DC Studios’ new “Superman breaking chains” logo, and the recap begins with, “Previously in the DCU,” confirming the updated continuity. A key change is Adebayo’s call, which now asks for the Justice Gang instead of the Justice League, officially replacing the old DCEU team with the new group from Superman, led by Maxwell Lord (Sean Gunn).
The biggest change in the “Previously on” segment is the replacement of the Justice League with the Justice Gang, recreated shot-for-shot with the new team lineup featuring Mr. Terrific, Superman, Green Lantern, Hawkgirl, and Supergirl, though only Merced and Fillion physically appear in the scene, where Hawkgirl remarks, “What a meathead,” and Green Lantern adds, “Screw that guy. You know he tells people I’m a puke freak?”
Gunn said in an interview that Peacemaker Season 2 is “very much connected to Superman and very much connected to what comes after.”
He added, “I developed it along the way, in conjunction with the other DC projects we’re working on, so it’s very much connected to Superman and what comes next. I had a rough idea of what I was going to do, but it was actually quite different from what the show ended up being.”
Here’s the plot synopsis for Peacemaker Season 2:
In Season 2, Christopher Smith/Peacemaker (Cena) discovers an alternate world where life is everything he wishes it could be. But this discovery also forces him to face his traumatic past and take the future into his own hands.
The cast of Peacemaker Season 2 includes Cena as Christopher Smith/Peacemaker, Freddie Stroma as Adrian Chase/Vigilante, Brooks as Leota Adebayo, Jennifer Holland as Agent Emilia Harcourt, Steve Agee as John Economos, and Frank Grillo as General Rick Flag, Sr. Recurring roles feature Robert Patrick as Auggie Smith/White Dragon, Nhut Le as Rip Jagger/Judomaster, Dee Bradley Baker as the voice of Eagly, Sol Rodríguez as Sasha Bordeaux, Tim Meadows as Agent Langston Fleury, Elizabeth Faith Ludlow as Keeya Adebayo, Brey Noelle as Jaina Hudson/White Rabbit, Michael Rooker as Red St. Wild, Terence Rosemore as Otis Berg, Reinaldo Faberlle as Mexicali, Brandon Stanley as Ponyboy, Anissa Matlock as Titties, Dorian Kingi as Encino Man, Michael Ian Black as Cleavis Thornwaite, David Denman in a to-be-confirmed role, and Taylor St. Clair as Mrs. Chase. Guest stars include Merced as Kendra Saunders/Hawkgirl, Fillion as Guy Gardner/Green Lantern, and Sean Gunn as Maxwell Lord.
Gunn wrote all eight episodes of Peacemaker and directed three, including the first. Gunn, Peter Safran, and Cena serve as executive producers. Greg Mottola, Peter Sollett, and Althea Jones also direct. Based on characters from DC, Peacemaker is produced by Gunn’s Troll Court Entertainment and The Safran Company in association with Warner Bros. Television.
