The superhero style goes by way of some enormous modifications, due to the newly fashioned DCU. Coming from the thoughts of co-CEO James Gunn, the primary slate of initiatives (titled Gods and Monsters) are establishing the brand new canon. Regardless of all of the world-building that is taking place, Peacemaker Season 2 is in some way validating years of watching earlier DCEU initiatives. And I actually cannot get sufficient.
When the DCU was being fashioned, Gunn confirmed a handful of characters from the DCEU have been being carried over. Chief amongst them was John Cena’s Chris Smith/ Peacemaker, and Season 2 has been methodically revealing which of the earlier DCEU occasions have been being carried by way of. After the third episode, “One other Rick Up My Sleeve,” supplied connections to each David Ayer’s Suicide Squad and Gunn’s The Suicide Squad, I really feel so nice about spending years watching the DC motion pictures so as.
Peacemaker Is Establishing A New DCU, Whereas Providing Connections To Each Suicide Squad Motion pictures
The second season of Peacemaker (which is streaming with a HBO Max subscription) instantly began clarifying its canon with the “beforehand within the DCU” section. In it we noticed the DCEU retconned, and the Justice League changed by the Justice Gang. This was a easy and efficient method to ship this exposition, and reveal what points of Season 1 have been and weren’t being carried over.
Since then, the present has continued to supply extra of those connections to the DCEU, and Episode 3 was no exception. In a flashback it is revealed that the late Rick Flag Jr. was Emilia Harcourt’s solely good friend, with Joel Kinnaman returning to the position.
Their dialog first supplied connections to Ayer’s Suicide Squad, revealing that Cara Delevingne’s June Moon/Enchantress was nonetheless alive and a part of the canon of the DCU. The scene was additionally set shortly earlier than Gunn’s The Suicide Squad, the place Flag would finally be murdered by Peacemaker in Corto Maltese.
Whereas this scene supplied some much-needed context for Harcourt’s backstory and unique disdain for Chris, it additionally served as a giant payoff for longtime DC followers. Whereas the DCU is a reboot, Gunn has discovered a method to usher in previous tales and reward these of us who’ve caught round by way of years of initiatives and a number of shared universes. As a result of he is performed that so many occasions in only a few episodes of Peacemaker, it feels just like the filmmaker/co-CEO might do the identical for nearly any determine from the earlier DCEU.
This flashback would have been thrilling sufficient for DC followers, however Kinnaman received to have much more scenes due to the multiversal storyline taking place in Season 2. We received to see an alternate model of Rick Flag Jr., one who is definitely relationship Harcourt. Kinnaman received to flex his comedic muscular tissues, standing in stark juxtaposition to the jaded Flag we all know and love.
I am so in on Gunn’s management of the DCU, and the methodical method he is constructing this world. In two TV reveals and a film there have been a ton of crossovers and connections, and I can not wait to see what’s coming subsequent.
Peacemaker airs new episodes Thursdays on HBO Max as a part of the 2025 TV schedule. Hopefully we get much more shock cameos in future episodes.