John Cena's Peacemaker From 'The Suicide Squad' Is Getting an HBO Max Series

John Cena as Peacemaker (WarnerMedia)

John Cena’s Peacemaker character from upcoming movie “The Suicide Squad” is getting his own HBO Max series. James Gunn will write all eight episodes of the show’s first season.

Gunn will also direct “multiple” episodes of the “Peacemaker” series, HBO Max said on Wednesday — including the first one.

He and “The Suicide Squad” producer Peter Safran will executive produce action-comedy “Peacemaker,” which is based on the DC character and has a straight-to-series order at the WarnerMedia streaming service. Cena will co-executive produce the show, which hails from Gunn’s Troll Court Entertainment and The Safran Company in association with Warner Bros. Television.

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“Peacemaker” is scheduled to begin production in early 2021, ahead of Gunn’s work on the next “Guardians of the Galaxy” film. Gunn is the writer and director of “The Suicide Squad,” which will be released in theaters on Aug. 6, 2021.

The “Peacemaker” series will serve as an origin story for Cena’s character in the upcoming movie “The Suicide Squad,” which is a confusingly named sequel to 2016’s “Suicide Squad,” which was written and directed by David Ayer.

Master-of-weapons Peacemaker believes in peace “at any cost — no matter how many people he has to kill to get it,” according to the few details WarnerMedia was willing to share on Wednesday.

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“‘Peacemaker’ is an opportunity to delve into current world issues through the lens of this superhero/supervillain/and world’s biggest douchebag,” Gunn said. “I’m excited to expand ‘The Suicide Squad’ and bring this character from the DC film universe to the full breadth of a series. And of course, to be able to work again with John, Peter, and my friends at Warner Bros. is the icing on the cake.”

“I have said before that it has been a tremendous honor and an incredible opportunity to be part of ‘The Suicide Squad’ and to work with James on what is going to be a fantastic movie,” Cena said. “I am unbelievably excited to have the chance to team up with him again for ‘Peacemaker.’ We can’t wait for fans to see this.”

“James Gunn has the unique ability to create an expansive universe while also bringing to life the soul and wit of each character. We look forward to a deep dive into the world of ‘Peacemaker,'” Casey Bloys, chief content officer for HBO and HBO Max, added.

18 'Suicide Squad' Characters Ranked, Worst to Best (Photos)

"Suicide Squad" is technically a movie about bad guys, but they can't all be bad, right? Click through to find out! (Spoilers ahead.)
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18. Griggs

Abuses prisoners at Belle Reve, collaborates with the Joker, never gets any kind of comeuppance. I guess this ranking will have to do.
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17. Incubus

What was this CGI monstrosity? He looks like a cast-off from “Gods of Egypt.”
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16. Batman

Remember that time he punched Harley Quinn in the face underwater and all the dudes in the theater laughed? Not a great moment for humanity there. And yet it's nearly Batman's entire involvement in this movie.
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15. Slipknot

When he randomly showed up in the movie as a member of the Suicide Squad without ever being mentioned before, my friend leaned over and was like, “Who is that?” And that about sums up Slipknot, since he got his head blown off like 45 seconds later.
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14. Rick Flag

Had two Gs in his name in the comics, yet they removed one of them here? Also he's one-note and boring. That probably matters more.
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13. Enchantress

This 6,000-year-old magic lady who builds a magic hole in the sky that can apparently knock over aircraft carriers thousands of miles away had to ask someone how to destroy the human armies.
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12. June Moone

I guess she's better than Enchantress by default, by virtue of simply of being the tangible human half of that CGI horror.
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11. Jonny Frost

A Joker henchman who makes absolutely zero impression. Pretty hard to pull off!
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10. Monster T

Hey remember that time Common got cast in a franchise comic-book movie as a known comic book character only to get murdered in his first scene? Yeesh. This character was wasted so badly I didn't even have a picture of him to use for this slide.
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9. Lieutenant GQ Edwards

This dude, played by Scott Eastwood, was treated in pre-release as a mystery character who either had a secret identity or would become a famous comic book dude. And then he spent the end movie hovering in the background before blowing himself up. All right.
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8. The Joker

Compared with most of the other nonsense in the movie, Jared Leto's Joker is inoffensive and sparingly used enough to make it in the upper half of the rankings.
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7. Harley Quinn

Has characteristics and established personal motivations, making her an instant standout in "Suicide Squad." Except it's all ruined when it's revealed that all she, the Joker's girlfriend, really wants is an upper-middle-class lifestyle with a husband who wears a suit to work.
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6. Katana

Really loves her husband, who lives in her soul-stealing sword. They should do a movie about her trying to figure out how to get him out of there.
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5. Amanda Waller

There's a part where she randomly murders a bunch of FBI agents who work for her and it was a pretty awesome moment, even if it doesn't make any sense.
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4. Deadshot

Does the most killing of any of them, so that's cool. Is played by Will Smith, so that's even cooler. Hates Batman, so he's basically my best friend.
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3. Killer Croc

Nobody ever says what it was he did to get locked in a blacksite prison forever. I assume it was just racism.
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2. Captain Boomerang

This dude I identify with strongly: he's got bad facial hair, is constantly drinking beer and is woefully unqualified for battling magic monsters. Though he doesn't really contribute at all, he's my favorite of the bunch.
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1. El Diablo

I like his tattoos and also his ability to set a million people on fire at once. I also identify strongly with his desire to not kill a million people at once -- which, in the context of this movie, makes him easily the best.
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