James Gunn and John Cena bringing Suicide Squad spinoff series to the small screen

Well, we didn’t see this coming.

We all know that Guardians of the Galaxy’s James Gunn is making The Suicide Squad at Warners with a cracking cast of characters (all revealed here) but it has just been announced that he, along with John Cena, who plays Peacemaker – a man who wants peace so badly he’ll kill anyone to get it – are heading to HBO Max to bring the character to the small screen in a series called Oh f*ck, it’s Peacemaker!.

No, really.

John Cena said: “I have said before that it has been a tremendous honor and an incredible opportunity to be part of The Suicide Squad and to work with James on what is going to be a fantastic movie. I am unbelievably excited to have the chance to team up with him again for Peacemaker. We can’t wait for fans to see this.”

While Gunn himself added: “Peacemaker is an opportunity to delve into current world issues through the lens of this superhero/supervillain/and world’s biggest douchebag. I’m excited to expand The Suicide Squad and bring this character from the DC film universe to the full breadth of a series. And of course, to be able to work again with John, Peter, and my friends at Warner Bros. is the icing on the cake.”

HBO Max has given it an initial eight-episode order with Gunn writing and directing several episodes, including the pilot.

This is pretty big news but not surprising as HBO Max seems to be putting a lot of money in the DC Universe with the Snyder Cut of Justice League coming along with a Justice League Dark, Gotham City PD and Green Lantern already announced.

However, it certainly was unexpected.

Oh f*ck, it’s Peacemaker! HBO Max is set to explore the origins of the Peacemaker character, the master of weapons from the highly anticipated upcoming The Suicide Squad film, in the new Max Original action-adventure-comedy series Peacemaker. HBO Max has given a straight-to-series order of eight episodes for the first season of the show. John Cena will reprise his role from The Suicide Squad movie to star in the series, and the film’s acclaimed writer/director James Gunn will write all eight episodes of Peacemaker and will direct multiple episodes, including the first. Gunn and The Suicide Squad producer Peter Safran will serve as executive producers of the series, with Cena as co-executive producer. Based on characters from DC, Peacemaker will be produced by Gunn’s Troll Court Entertainment and The Safran Company in association with Warner Bros. Television. Peacemaker is scheduled to begin production in early 2021, prior to Gunn beginning work on the next Guardians of the Galaxyfilm.
 
While details about Peacemaker are being kept under wraps, the series will explore the origins of the character that Cena will play in the upcoming film, a man who believes in peace at any cost — no matter how many people he has to kill to get it. The series will extend the world that Gunn is creating for The Suicide Squad movie, which is scheduled to be released in theaters by Warner Bros. Pictures on August 6, 2021.
 
“James Gunn has the unique ability to create an expansive universe while also bringing to life the soul and wit of each character. We look forward to a deep dive into the world of Peacemaker,” said Casey Bloys, Chief Content Officer for HBO and HBO Max.

So, who’s excited for this? Let me know your thoughts, gang…

Source: WarnerBros