Peacemaker's James Gunn to Focus on DC TV After Marvel's Guardians Vol. 3

02/18/2022 06:10 pm EST

After returning to the Marvel Cinematic Universe with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, James Gunn will stay in the DC Extended Universe — and on TV. The Peacemaker series creator, who directed five of the first eight episodes, will write and direct all episodes of the second season officially ordered by HBO Max on Wednesday. Gunn is also developing a second spinoff of The Suicide Squad for WarnerMedia and DC, keeping Gunn in the small screen side of the DC universe for the foreseeable future. 

"I think I pretty much have decided that after I'm done with Guardians, I'm going to be doing television for at least a year. My mind's made up on that," Gunn confirmed with Variety. "Not all the shows that we're dealing with are things that I'm going to be writing and directing, so some of them may take different amounts of my time. Peacemaker is going to be me writing, me directing, and spending all my time on set. But other shows that may not be writing and directing or not directing all the episodes."  

Talks of another series set in the world of Gunn's The Suicide Squad have "advanced a lot," he added. "Hopefully, in not too long, people will know more about that. It's not 100%. But we've been working heavily on it. So that would be something that would happen in addition to Peacemaker Season 2." 

On reteaming with Cena and producer Peter Safran for Peacemaker Season 2, Gunn noted this week's announcement was not always part of the plan. 

"John and I did not agree to a second season off the bat because we wanted to make sure this is something we really love doing that we really wanted. That's why it's being announced now, because we had to work everything out," Gunn said. "I didn't agree to a second season just off the bat, it wasn't a matter of like, okay, we're picked up. It's a matter of I just wanted to make sure it was really something I wanted to do."

Gunn previously stated he has "no plans" to return for a Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 4 at Marvel Studios, saying the upcoming threequel set for May 2023 is "the end for us, the last time people will see this team of Guardians." 

All episodes of Peacemaker Season 1 are now streaming on HBO Max. 

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