The Surprising Way Peacemaker Will Differ From The Suicide Squad According To James Gunn

"The Suicide Squad," the James Gunn-directed loose sequel to 2016's "Suicide Squad," was well-received by both critics and audiences alike earlier this year (via Rotten Tomatoes) and earned praise for its ultra-violent action and Gunn's trademark style of humor. Indeed, many seemed to agree that Gunn's film was a significant improvement over its predecessor. While a lot of that can be attributed to the filmmaker's unique input, arguably just as much of the film's success has to do with its cast of colorfully deranged characters and the actors who played them.

One of the film's many delightful characters was none other than John Cena's Peacemaker, a ruthless, patriotic murderer who believes in maintaining peace at any cost. Gunn liked the character (and Cena's performance as him) so much that he developed an HBO Max television series centered around the character, titled "Peacemaker," that will see Cena returning to the role. The series is expected to premiere on the streaming service in January 2022, but there are still many questions surrounding the project. In specific, many are curious to see how it utilizes its titular character and, perhaps most importantly, separates itself from "The Suicide Squad."

Fortunately, Gunn has already provided an answer to that latter question.

During a conversation with The Hollywood Reporter in August, James Gunn discussed the upcoming "Peacemaker" series and opened up a bit about how the HBO Max series differs from "The Suicide Squad." According to Gunn, "Peacemaker" is, ultimately, a much "quieter" story than "The Suicide Squad" is. Elaborating on this, the director said, "There are a lot of similarities to 'The Suicide Squad' in that it's no holds barred, but there are also a lot of things that are very different, in that it's quieter in some ways. It's very specifically about a different group of people, so it's a little bit more about society."

Gunn went on to tease that the series will see John Cena's patriotic character running into characters with very different political viewpoints than him, including Danielle Brooks' Leota Adebayo. The focus on a largely different set of characters than those seen in "The Suicide Squad" will also likely, as Gunn himself says, help give "Peacemaker" a new and unique tone.

The series will also be set after the events of "The Suicide Squad," so one has to wonder how much Peacemaker's actions in that film will affect him moving forward. Either way, it'll be interesting to see just how much (or how little) the character evolves across the show's eight episodes.