James Gunn Explains How Peacemaker Sets Up Man of Tomorrow

After Superman premiered over the summer, James Gunn stated that Peacemaker Season 2 would serve as the “direct follow-up” to the film. As the season progressed, it became apparent that Peacemaker would be a bridge between Gunn’s first two features in the DC Universe. Last month, Gunn made a point to say the Peacemaker Season 2 finale “is important to Man of Tomorrow as anything,” implying that the episode would lay the groundwork for the upcoming movie. That promise sparked a lot of intriguing fan theories, even after it was confirmed David Corenswet wouldn’t appear on Peacemaker. Now that the episode is finally out, viewers are trying to put all the pieces together. Fortunately, Gunn’s here to help provide some clarity. Spoilers for Peacemaker follow.

On Threads, a fan asked Gunn how specifically the Peacemaker finale, “Full Nelson,” sets up Man of Tomorrow. “Where Chris is at the end, what is happening between the government and the metahumans, Rick and Lex’s new partnership, and all of their decision to do what they did is all a part of the future, [Man of Tomorrow], and more,” Gunn wrote in his response.

Salvation Will Play a Big Role in Man of Tomorrow

It’s already been confirmed that there are no plans for Peacemaker Season 3, but since Gunn views Christopher Smith as an integral character in the larger DCU, it means other projects are going to have to pick up lingering story threads. The Peacemaker finale ends on a cliffhanger, with Rick Flag Sr. banishing Chris to Salvation, the planet that the U.S. government has established as a prison for metahumans. After finally getting his life together and finding peace with a found family that loves him, Chris finds himself alone in an unknown world, with mysterious creatures roaring in the distance.

It remains to be seen if Cena will appear in Man of Tomorrow (though, since Gunn plans to keep the character around, that’s certainly likely), but Salvation should factor in heavily to the Man of Tomorrow plot. It seems like Gunn could pull elements from DC Comics’ Salvation Run. The DCU’s adaptation likely won’t be an exact 1:1 retelling of that arc (after all, Lex Luthor is working with the government as opposed to being a prisoner in Salvation himself), but it could put its own spin on the premise. Luthor’s partnership with Flag is bad news for the DCU’s metahumans, and Man of Tomorrow could begin with ARGUS rounding up the likes of the Justice Gang and others in a misguided attempt to make the world a better place.

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Salvation could also be where Man of Tomorrow‘s mysterious villain comes in. It’s very plausible that an extraterrestrial threat will make its way from Salvation to the DCU’s mainline Earth, potentially endangering the entire planet. Only a very powerful villain could force Lex Luthor to team up with Superman, and while fans have long speculated it could finally be Brainiac’s time to shine, the introduction of Salvation establishes a foundation for the emergence of Darkseid and his forces. If Earth finds itself under attack from someone like DeSaad (scoping out Earth on Darkseid’s behalf), Lex would do whatever is necessary to keep Earth safe. He’s a villain, but he believes in keeping his home protected from threats he doesn’t fully understand.

Before things went sideways for Chris in the Peacemaker finale, he formed the agency Checkmate with the rest of the 11th Street Kids and other allies, which is also something that could come into play in Man of Tomorrow. With ARGUS targeting metahumans, Superman will definitely be inclined to seek aid elsewhere if and when the Salvation initiative starts falling apart. Checkmate likely has resources that could help Kal-El on his latest mission. How this all comes together will be interesting. Gunn wants to avoid giving viewers too much homework to understand DCU projects, but Peacemaker seems like it’s required watching before Man of Tomorrow hits theaters.

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