James Gunn’s THE SUICIDE SQUAD has yet to hit theaters but the buzz behind it and its stars are so big that spin-off TV series are already being ordered. This announcement is huge as it puts John Cena’s THE PEACEMAKER front and center with his own series coming to the HBO Max streaming service.
THE PEACEMAKER has been giving an eight-episode straight-to-series order for its first season with THE SUICIDE SQUAD director writing all episodes and directing a number of them. The show is said to explore the origins of the DC Comics character played by Cena.
Peacemaker is scheduled to begin production in early 2021, prior to Gunn beginning work on the next GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY film. The show will be produced by James Gunn and Peter Safran with Cena serving as co-executive producer.
This is not the first spin-off series from an upcoming DC film set to hit HBO Max. It was recently announced that a GOTHAM PD series would be coming as a spin off of THE BATMAN from director Matt Reeves. Also former DC Universe originals such as DOOM PATROL, HARLEY QUINN, TITANS and YOUNG JUSTICE have moved to the streaming platform.
To give a bit of back story on the character of The Peacemaker, he was created by Joe Gill and Pat Boyette and first appeared in the Fightin’ 5 series originally owned by Charlton Comics, is a man who believes in peace at any cost — no matter how many people he has to kill to get it. The first incarnation of Peacemaker is Christopher Smith, a pacifist diplomat and son of a Nazi death camp commandant who founded the Pax Institute who fights dictators and warlords.
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