The novelty of shared cinematic universes has arguably worn off some by now, but it’s still fun to see how various projects under the same umbrella are intertwined. In the DC Universe, for example, Superman and Peacemaker have distinct styles and tones, but they also feature some of the same characters and reference specific events. Before Peacemaker Season 2 premiered, James Gunn described the show as the “direct follow-up” to Superman. Fans already know Gunn’s next DC movie, Man of Tomorrow, is scheduled to release in July 2027, and they’re interested to find out if Peacemaker has any clues about where things are headed.
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During an appearance on the podcast The Ringer-Verse, Gunn addressed how the remaining episodes of Peacemaker Season 2 connect to the larger, overarching DCU. “I want to make sure that people can pick up and watch something without having to see something before it,” Gunn said. “That said, Episode 8 is important to Man of Tomorrow as anything.”
How Could Peacemaker Season 2 Connect to Man of Tomorrow?
As Peacemaker Season 2 enters the homestretch, fans are anticipating some significant DCU developments. Only the first five episodes were sent to media outlets for review purposes, a deliberate decision made to preserve reveals and surprises in the final three. Fans remain convinced David Corenswet’s Superman is going to show up on Peacemaker in some capacity, and Gunn’s latest comments will only continue to spark rampant speculation. If the Peacemaker Season 2 finale is that pertinent to Man of Tomorrow, there likely are some key DCU connections in store.
With the film nearly two years away, very little is known about the Man of Tomorrow plot, though we do know the film sees Superman and Lex Luthor team up against a grave threat. If Lex is fighting alongside his arch enemy, it means he’s been released from Belle Reve Penitentiary. The circumstances surrounding Luthor’s release from prison remain under wraps, but it could be connected to Peacemaker‘s interdimensional rifts and multiverse elements. On Peacemaker, similarities have been drawn to the rift Luthor caused at the end of Superman, so perhaps Rick Flag Sr., increasingly desperate for any knowledge that will help him understand the technology, calls upon Luthor for aid. Given Lex’s experience with pocket dimensions and rifts, he could help Flag comprehend what’s going on.
Another possibility is that Peacemaker Season 2 will help lay the foundation for Man of Tomorrow‘s villain. It’s unknown who or what will force Superman and Lex to work together, but it must be someone extremely dangerous and powerful. Perhaps a metahuman from Peacemaker‘s alternate reality makes the jump to the mainline DCU by season’s end, causing Kal-El and Luthor to fight together to protect their home. All of the interdimensional activity could also attract the attention of a villain like Brainiac, who would likely be very interested in learning about parallel realities in his pursuit of vast knowledge.
Major developments like this would seemingly go against Gunn’s goal of limiting the amount of homework viewers need to do to understand the DCU, but this is still a shared universe and connections between various projects are to be expected. Gunn and Co. found a way to make Superman and Peacemaker work on their own, so odds are he’s already figured out how Man of Tomorrow will be accessible to people who haven’t seen Peacemaker. Whatever the last three episodes have in store, it feels like they go beyond the standard Easter eggs and smaller references, which is very exciting for the DCU’s future.
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