When James Gunn signed on to direct The Suicide Squad, he had no idea that he’d be spinning off one of the characters into a full-on HBO Max series. But then, the pandemic hit, and Gunn found himself sitting at home bored out of his mind, so he tossed what he describes as a “vague pitch” to HBO Max who immediately bit. Barely a year later, he’s now sitting on a wrapped up first season for Peacemaker starring John Cena.
“And that’s a wrap on Day 131 & Season One of #Peacemaker,” Gunn tweeted. “Less than a year ago I pitched a vague pitch to @HBOMax – here we are 11 months later with 8 astounding episodes in the can. Cast & crew: I love you all. Thank you for putting your hearts & souls into this project.”
And that’s a wrap on Day 131 & Season One of #Peacemaker. Less than a year ago I pitched a vague pitch to @HBOMax – here we are 11 months later with 8 astounding episodes in the can. Cast & crew: I love you all. Thank you for putting your hearts & souls into this project.
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) July 13, 2021
Plucked from his upcoming reboot/sequel of The Suicide Squad, which hits theaters and HBO Max next month, “Peacemaker is an opportunity to delve into current world issues through the lens of this superhero/supervillain/and world’s biggest douchebag,” Gunn said in a statement when the show was announced. And like all of his projects, he’s fiercely defended the John Cena series from misinformation online. Not long after Peacemaker was announced, a site tried to claim that an edited version of the series would air on The CW. Gunn laughingly shot that rumor down.
“Lol. No. If we edited it for broadcast TV it would be forty seconds long,” he tweeted.
Peacemaker is expected to start streaming on HBO Max in January 2022.
(Via James Gunn on Twitter)