Peacemaker Reveals Behind-the-Scenes VFX Reel, Confirming How Much of What You Saw Was CG

A new behind-the-scenes video for Peacemaker reveals just how much of DC’s first original series for HBO Max used visual effects. Not surprisingly, much of the CG involved rendering John Cena’s trusty sidekick Eagly, the graphic violence, and the show’s alien antagonists, the butterflies. Luckily, what couldn’t be accomplished with VFX was Peacemaker‘s humor and camaraderie amongst its cast, which helped play a part in HBO Max renewing Peacemaker for a second season. As for the VFX reel, it comes with a spoiler warning for Peacemaker Season 1, which makes sense since it heavily spoils much of the plot.

“some people think that all my impressive feats are just visual effects. well here’s proof that only some of them are,” the official Peacemaker account wrote on Twitter. The intense season finale pops up throughout the two-and-a-half-minute video, especially the climactic fight to destroy the caterpillar cow and the fight against the butterfly-controlled police force.

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“The brilliance of James Gunn once again shines with Peacemaker. He took this character, brought to life by the inimitable John Cena, and created an exceptional series that’s simultaneously thrilling, hilarious and heartfelt, showcasing the humanity beneath this team of misfits living in a superhuman world,” Sarah Aubrey, Head of Original Content, HBO Max said. “As the first original DC show to have its series premiere on HBO Max, we are thrilled that the viewers agreed to give peace a f***ing chance.”

Something that wasn’t shown in the behind-the-scenes video was the surprising cameo by the Justice League. Superman, Wonder Woman, Flash, and Aquaman were late to save the day, which Peacemaker made sure to remind the heroes in epic profanity-laced fashion. In separate interviews with ComicBook.com following the Peacemaker finale, two of the series’ stars — John Economos actor Steve Agee and Emilia Harcourt actress Jennifer Holland — broke their silence on the cameos.

“It was exciting,” Agee explained. “I am a big Justice League fan. I like those characters. I like the look of the characters. I like the dramatic feel for those movies. I was a fan of [Zack] Snyder’s Justice League. It was so crazy to shoot it. I mean, that’s all real. They were standing there. We had Superman on a wire. There was a person hanging there. That wasn’t digitally put in there. We had people, same sizes and the same suits. And seeing them silhouetted like that was really amazing for me, as a fan of those movies, to see that. It was awesome. It was so awesome. It was really hard not to talk about it and tell my friends.”

“I love it,” Holland said. “I love when the different shows and movies can cross over. I think it’s fun for fans. I know that, before I was in any of these superhero projects and I was just a fan, it was always fun to see Nick Fury show up at the end of the movie you were watching. You’re like, ‘Oh, cool!’ So I thought that it was going to be really fun.”

“You just don’t know how people are going to react to it,” Holland continued. “But I just hoped that people would see, ‘Oh, cool. There’s a place for all of us in this world.’ We’re a different tone, and we’re a different type of team. Maybe we’re not as superhero as some of the superheroes are, but we’re in the same world, and there’s room for all of us in this world.”

The first season of Peacemaker is available to stream on HBO Max.