Peacemaker Featurette Reveals the Origin of His “BFF” Vigilante

John Cena will have a “BFF” in his Peacemaker series, in the form of Freddie Stroma’s Vigilante. A new featurette goes behind the scenes to focus on the relationship between the former Suicide Squad member and Vigilante, with commentary from Cena, Stroma, and director James Gunn. It’s a somewhat complicated relationship, especially since Vigilante considers them best friends, whereas Peacemaker isn’t as receptive to the title. What’s clearly on display is the witty banter from Vigilante, who transforms himself from a restaurant busboy to a stone-cold killer seeking justice, no matter how he can obtain it.

“Vigilante is a busboy in a restaurant. But by night, he’s trained and transformed himself into a crusader for justice,” Cena says. Stroma then explains how Vigilante looks up to and admires Peacemaker, with Gunn adding how “[Vigilante] thinks of Peacemaker as his BFF.”

Among the hilarious scenes previewed is Peacemaker going through his voicemails after a tiring mission, with all the messages coming from an overly enthusiastic Vigilante. Seeing as he believes they are really BFF’s, Vigilante even calls to ask if Peacemaker watched the latest sporting event on TV. “Peacemaker is pessimistic about maybe even having friends,” Cena continues. “And Vigilante is just gung-ho about having a best friend.” Stroma states Peacemaker looks at Vigilante as an annoying younger brother, which is an appropriate description of their unique dynamic.

Vigilante is a fan of an extreme amount of violence, which may even give Peacemaker pause. The Suicide Squad displayed just how depraved Peacemaker can be, but Vigilante may be too much, even for the former Task Force X member.

Gunn recently teased more The Suicide Squad spinoffs to join Peacemaker, responding to a fan question on Twitter with a laughing GIF and winking emoji. “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 first 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.”

Peacemaker stars John Cena as Peacemaker, Danielle Brooks as Leota Adebayo, Robert Patrick as Aggie Smith, Jennifer Holland as Emilia Harcourt, Steve Agee as John Economos, Freddie Stroma as Vigilante, Christopher Heyerdahl as Captain Locke, Chukwudi Iwuji as Clemson Turn, Lochlyn Munro as Larry Fitzgibbon, Annie Chang as Sophie Song, Elizabeth Faith Ludlow as Keeya, and Rizwan Manji as Jamil.

The series debuts Thursday, January 13th on HBO Max.