John Cena Says Peacemaker Series Turns Up The Suicide Squad Volume

A year before The Suicide Squad was even released, director James Gunn and HBO Max confirmed they were already working on a follow-up in the form of a TV series for Peacemaker, the gun-toting member of Task Force X played by wrestler-turned-actor John Cena. Speaking in a new interview, Cena has high praise for what fans can expect from the show, which arrives at the start of 2022 and recently wrapped filming, telling Entertainment Weekly: “I would venture to say that Peacemaker actually turns up the volume on anything that you see in The Suicide Squad. I want people to enjoy The Suicide Squad and I really think they will. Once they get a feel for these characters they’re going to want more and that’s where Peacemaker picks up.”

Cena also offered his feelings on Peacmaker as a character, relaying it back to how he thought of himself as a wrestler.”The Peacemaker is an interesting character because his ego seems contradictory. He is this guy who has developed this philosophy and he can use it as a blanket to behave badly: ‘I am doing this thing that is morally wrong but I am doing it in the name of peace so it’s okay.’ He views himself as a superhero but I think a lot of us would watch his actions and think that they’re morally wrong. In WWE I always try to get people to describe their characters in one sentence and I think that one sentence (for Peacemaker is) ‘He wants peace so much he’s willing to kill for it.’”

Other cast members starring alongside Cena in the Peacemaker series include Danielle Brooks (Orange Is the New Black) as Leota Adebayo, Robert Patrick (Terminator 2: Judgment Day) as Auggie Smith, Jennifer Holland (Brightburn), who will reprise her role of Emilia Harcourt from The Suicide Squad and Freddie Stroma as Vigilante/Adrian Chase.

An official description for the series reads:

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. 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.

The Suicide Squad will debut in theaters and on HBO Max on August 6. Peacemaker premieres January 2022 on HBO Max.