James Gunn Reveals His Scrapped Choice for Peacemaker Season 2's Villains, And Why He Changed Plans

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Peacemaker showrunner and DC Studios' co-head James Gunn breaks down the original plan for the villains of Season 2.

Speaking to Deadline, Gunn explained the original story he had planned for Season 2 of Peacemaker, which was largely rooted in its villains. "The first time I wrote a rough outline of season 2, it had to do with other white supremacist superheroes who were after Peacemaker for killing his father [Robert Patrick's White Dragon] because he was their comrade," Gunn explained. "For me, it played a little bit too much like season one and I wanted to turn the story on its heels."

Gunn went on to explain that he "wanted Peacemaker to be this character who had to really deal with the ramifications of his actions in season one, and deal with his emotional reality of the demons that he discovered in season one." As much as the white supremacist storyline would have leaned into that concept, Peacemaker Season 2 instead features Frank Grillo's Rick Flag Sr., the new director of A.R.G.U.S., serving as the series' primary antagonist. Apart from an entirely different edge than Amanda Waller had while she was in charge of the organization, Flag Sr. also brings with him to the role a burning hatred for Peacemaker, who killed his son, Joel Kinnaman's Rick Flag Jr., during the events of The Suicide Squad.

Alongside Cena, Peacemaker Season 2 brings back a whole host of returning stars from Season 1. Among these are Freddie Stroma as Adrian Chase, aka Vigilante, Danielle Brooks as Project Butterfly member Leota Adebayo, and Steve Agee as A.R.G.U.S. agents Emilia Harcourt and John Economos. The second season of Peacemaker also marks the small-screen debuts of numerous characters introduced in the recently released Superman feature film, including Nathan Fillion as Guy Gardner, aka Green Lantern, Isabela Merced as Kendra Saunders, aka Hawkgirl, and Sean Gunn as the Justice Gang's very own billionaire benefactor, Maxwell Lord.

What's Next for the DCU After Peacemaker Season 2?

Gunn recently gave fans an idea of what to expect next from the DCU after Peacemaker Season 2, during which he teased another small-screen production that, as of now, remains a total mystery. "Well, hopefully we're making [The Batman Part 2] before that, and then I think it's [the Superman follow-up]," Gunn said during a recent interview. "And then we have another TV show, which nobody knows about, which is going next" Currently, fans are aware of two more DCU films slated to be released in 2026, specifically Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow starring Milly Alcock and the hotly anticipated Clayface feature film from director James Watkins and writers Mike Flanagan and Hossein Amini.

Peacemaker is currently available for streaming on HBO Max.