Peacemaker Won’t Continue One Big Storyline From The Suicide Squad (And It Makes Sense)

Peacemaker has a rather interesting relationship to the various shared DC cinematic universes. The first season was a spinoff of the DC Extended Universe movie The Suicide Squad, while Season 2 takes place in the newly established DC Universe. Showrunner James Gunn found a creative way to explain this shift, but fans still have questions. The Suicide Squad remains a point of contention; it’s been revealed that certain events from that film are DCU canon (the Corto Maltese mission), so some are wondering what else fits in. In particular, there’s a massive dangling thread involving Bloodsport, Harley Quinn, and Ratcatcher 2, but don’t expect Peacemaker (or any DCU project) to follow up on it.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Gunn explained why he isn’t going to revisit the conflict between Peacemaker and his old Corto Maltese teammates, who are still upset about him killing Rick Flag Jr. “People are always asking me about stuff from The Suicide Squad, and The Suicide Squad is a difficult thing because it is not DCU,” he said. “But there aren’t too many things in it that aren’t [DCU]. Unlike Peacemaker Season 1 — which is completely DCU, besides the ending and one or two mentions of different things — The Suicide Squad brings up more questions than answers.”

Gunn continued, “Now, I’m not saying that those characters won’t reappear. I’m just saying that I am [already] dealing with Peacemaker’s guilt over killing Rick Flag Jr. and his repercussions for that. And that story is being told through his relationship with Rick Flag Sr. To tell it through Bloodsport, who was friends with Rick Flag Jr., would be an emotionally diminished story compared to the one I’m telling now. So it doesn’t interest me at all.”

Why James Gunn’s Comments About The Suicide Squad Make Sense

Setting aside the shared universe differences, it would arguably be redundant from a storytelling perspective to revive these threads from The Suicide Squad. Especially after two seasons of Peacemaker, which have done a deep dive into Christopher Smith’s character with a poignant exploration of his guilt and internal conflict, it would be reductive to tell a story about Bloodsport trying to track Peacemaker down to avenge his fallen friend. As Gunn says, this is already being tackled through Rick Flag Sr., a grieving father going to increasingly desperate lengths to find his son’s killer. Rick Jr.’s friends certainly cared about him, but Rick Sr.’s presence is what gives Peacemaker maximum impact.

It remains to be seen what happens in the last two episodes of Peacemaker Season 2, but there will likely be some kind of culmination to the Rick Sr./Chris Smith confrontation. That will likely serve as the definitive conclusion to that chapter of Peacemaker’s life, allowing the character to move on. Subsequent DCU projects involving Peacemaker can then explore fresh concepts and ideas instead of retreading old ground. After all audiences have been through with Peacemaker, there’s no need to see him be hunted down by his former Task Force X companions.

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In terms of DCEU/DCU dynamics, Gunn seems to be very cautious about canonizing specific elements from The Suicide Squad, which is an interesting development. Notably, the biggest things from the film that have been carried over directly involve Peacemaker (killing Rick Flag Jr.), and there’s a lot that remains a mystery. Fans still don’t know the full Task Force X roster that participated in the DCU’s version of Project Starfish. In addition to Christopher Smith and Flag, only Bloodsport and Weasel have been confirmed. There’s a chance the DCU’s variants of Harley Quinn and/or Ratcatcher 2 weren’t there.

Granted, Harley and Ratcatcher 2 play key roles in The Suicide Squad, but a now-defunct Justice League shows up at the end of Peacemaker Season 1, so that ultimately may not mean much for the DCU. The goal of the rebooted shared universe was to give on-screen DC adaptations a fresh start, wiping the slate clean with a new continuity. If someone pitches Gunn a fresh take on a character like Harley Quinn, they should be able to explore that without having to adhere to a previously established version. Margot Robbie’s performances as Harley were great, but there have already been teases of how the DCU is putting its own spin on the Joker, so the same could be true for Harley, Ratcatcher 2, and others.

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