The Suicide Squad Spinoff Peacemaker Casts Nhut Le as Judomaster

James Gunn is currently in Canada filming Peacemaker, the new HBO Max series that will tie-in with his upcoming feature film, The Suicide Squad. The show is set to star John Cena in the titular role and new casting announcements have been pouring in this week. We learned that Elizabeth Faith Ludlow and Rizwan Manji have been cast in recurring roles and while the exact details of their characters are under wraps, Ludlow will reportedly be playing Keeya and Manji will be playing Jamil. According to Deadline, Nhut Le, who is best known for The Kroll Show, was also cast in the show as Judomaster.

Since 1965, there have been three iterations of Judomaster in DC Comics. The character was originally Hadley “Rip” Jagger, a World War II sergeant in the United States Army. He was taught the martial art of judo after saving the daughter of a Pacific island chief. The character was eventually killed by Bane and a new version came into being in 1994. Judomaster has been affiliated with L.A.W., All-Star Squadron, and the Justice League, and a woman version of the character who was created in 2007 was also associated with the Birds of Prey. While no further details of the character’s appearance in Peacemaker have been revealed, we’re willing to bet the story will be related to the six-issue L.A.W. comic series, which featured both Judomaster and Peacemaker.

Peacemaker is also expected to feature Danielle Brooks as Leota Adebayo, Robert Patrick as Auggie Smith, Jennifer Holland as Emilia Harcourt, Steve Agee as John Economos, Chris Conrad as Vigilante, Christopher Heyerdahl as Captain Locke, Chukwudi Iwuji as Clemson Murn, Lochlyn Munro as Larry Fitzgibbon, and Annie Chang as Sophie Song.

“Peacemaker is an opportunity to delve into current world issues through the lens of this superhero/supervillain/and world’s biggest douchebag,” Gunn previously said of the spinoff series. “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 is expected to premiere on HBO Max sometime in 2022, but fans will get to see the character’s debut when The Suicide Squad premieres in theaters and on the streaming service on August 6th.