James Gunn Reveals If Peacemaker Show Delays Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Plans

DC Comics fans were stunned earlier with the news that The Suicide Squad director James Gunn would be showrunning a spinoff series for HBO Max, featuring John Cena reprising his role in Peacemaker. The new show will go into production after Gunn finishes his work on The Suicide Squad and before he begins filming on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, a fact which promptly worried fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe that his last entry in the trilogy will be delayed yet again. But worry not, for Gunn himself has confirmed that his next Marvel Studios movie would not be delayed because of Peacemaker.

While addressing fans on Twitter, Gunn confirmed that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 would begin production as planned, adding that all of this was made possible because of COVID-19 quarantines.

As many fans know, the latest movie was first delayed after Disney fired Gunn from the project before ultimately rehiring him months later after campaigning from the Guardians of the Galaxy cast, during which time the director signed on to make The Suicide Squad. Gunn has already completed the script for the final film in his Marvel trilogy, which he said will give Rocket Raccoon a bigger role in the narrative.

“When you asked me what was saddest for me when I thought it was gone—and anybody at Marvel can tell you—it’s this very strange and attached relationship to Rocket,” Gunn explained to Deadline. “Rocket is me, he really is, even if that sounds narcissistic. Groot is like my dog. I love Groot in a completely different way. I relate to Rocket and I feel compassion for Rocket, but I also feel like his story has not been completed. He has an arc that started in the first movie, continued into the second and goes through Infinity War and Endgame, and then I was set to really finish that arc in Guardians 3. That was a big loss to me—not being able to finish that story—though I was comforted by the fact that they were still planning to use my script.”

As for The Suicide Squad, that film will reunite characters like Harley Quinn and Amanda Waller while also introducing tons of new villains like Peacemaker and Bloodsport. Unfortunately, that likely means that Jared Leto’s Joker will not be making a comeback in the sequel. Gunn took to social media last year and explained why it wouldn’t be strange if Joker does not appear in The Suicide Squad.

“No one but me and a few others know all the characters in the movie. But if the Joker isn’t in the film, I don’t think it would be strange as he isn’t a part of the Suicide Squad in the comics,” Gunn said.

The Suicide Squad is currently set to premiere on August 6, 2021. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 does not yet have a release date.