James Gunn Teases Vigilante Role In Peacemaker

After posting a brief snippet of a recent HBO Max sizzle reel — one that focuses on his new show, Peacemaker — The Suicide Squad director James Gunn played it close to the vest when asked to confirm whether the antihero Vigilante showed up in a particular shot. While it appears to be (this is not our first look at the character, who appeared in a still photo released over the weekend), Gunn’s pithy dismissal of the question is not only characteristic of the spoiler-averse Guardians of the Galaxy filmmaker, but also of the way DC TV has traditionally handled the character of Vigilante.

Vigilante, real name Adrian Chase, first appeared in New Teen Titans #23 in September of 1982. When The Suicide Squad was in production, a rumor suggested Idris Elba would be playing this character, before it was revealed he would be Bloodsport instead. On Arrow, the character of Vigilante ended up intertwined with two long-running mysteries.  

In season five of that show, Josh Segarra was cast in the role of Adrian Chase. At the same time he first appeared, two mysterious characters made their debut on the show: the villainous Prometheus, and the antihero Vigilante. Fans of course assumed that Chase was Vigilante, as he was in the comics, but instead that turned out to be a misdirect. Chase was instead Prometheus, with the mystery of who Vigilante really was carried on for quite a long time after that.

It isn’t expected that Gunn will take a similar route; in spite of all the secrecy around The Suicide Squad, all of the characters were more or less what or who they were teased to be. Still, don’t expect him to give away much, as this rather lyrical non-answer shows:

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The character of Vigilante on Peacemaker will be played by Bridgerton’s Freddie Stroma, who stepped in to replace Chris Conrad, who left due to creative differences with the producers.

“Peacemaker is an opportunity to delve into current world issues through the lens of this superhero/supervillain/and world’s biggest douchebag,” Gunn said when the series was announced. “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.”

“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,” Cena said. “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.”