There were likely a lot of people who had their doubts about whether Peacemaker could make a big impact on HBO Max even after the success of The Suicide Squad before it. However, the violent, obscenity-filled spinoff series has surpassed even the highest expectations in viewer numbers and has now become the top reviewed release in the DCEU. John Cena’s starring role as Christopher Smith breaks away from last year’s The Suicide Squad, bringing the gun-totting hero into his own story as he joins a black ops organization to take down a threat known as Butterflies. Since premiering on January 13th, the series has managed to build on its initial reviews to now surpass Wonder Woman at the top of the DCEU review table.
When it comes to the superhero genre, director James Gunn can seemingly do no wrong, having had huge success with Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy movies and revitalized DC’s The Suicide Squad after the so-so 2016 David Ayer version, Peacemaker is yet another huge hit for Gunn, and he doesn’t have any intention of stopping yet with his final Guardians projects currently filming and other DC properties to come. With Gunn already hinting that he would love to be able to do more seasons of Peacemaker, this latest achievement could give Warner Bros. the push to green light more explosive episodes for Cena’s character.
2017’s Wonder Woman, which gave Gal Gadot’s Amazonian warrior her first solo outing, previously held the top spot with a 93% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, just ahead of The Suicide Squad with 90%. Peacemaker has now built up to a 94% rating to claim the DCEU crown, for now, which makes it a huge leap ahead of the likes of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and 2016’s Suicide Squad, which languish at the bottom of the list with 27% and 26% respectively.
Peacemaker Has Proven That Mature Content In The DCEU Can Work
As well as dominating the DCEU titles, Peacemaker’s exceptional approval rating puts the series as the third-highest rated DC property currently available, behind Doom Patrol and Watchmen with respective 97% and 96% ratings. Considering the number of DC projected that have failed to hit the mark with both audiences and critics alike, Peacemaker’s instant connection has proven that more mature content in DC projects is something that audiences want in the future, and with a number of projects it seems that they are going to get it.
Currently, The Batman is entering the final promotional push before the film arrives in March, and it promises to be the darkest iteration of the character seen on the big screen. With this and more potential spin-offs from The Suicide Squad to come, which will be certainly more in line with Peacemaker when they do arrive, there is a growing appetite for the type of movies and TV series that the 12A rating cannot handle, and while Marvel have been, so far, unwilling to dip into more adult orientated content, DC seems to be embracing it with increasing surety.