James Gunn is no stranger to superheroes. The director knows how to really draw out into their unique personalities on the screen. His success with both Marvel and DC Comics characters has made him a staple amongst fans. Most recently, Gunn developed Peacemaker for HBO, a Suicide Squad spin-off series that follows the titular character played by John Cena. The show recently dropped its fifth episode of the season and many fans are already speculating about a second season. Gunn has also been contemplating another season as well.

“The show is doing extraordinarily well, and we’re excited, we all like doing it, we just need to cross some Ts and dot some Is, which is basically me,” Gunn said in an interview with Deadline.

Peacemaker is a refreshing take on the superhero genre. The series follows Chris Smith/Peacemaker who is recovering from the injuries he suffered during the events of The Suicide Squad Peacemaker is forced to join a black-ops squad with a mission to identify and eliminate parasitic butterfly-like creatures. The show is based on the DC Comics character that first made his appearance in 1966.

Peacemaker Is Enjoying a Lot of Success

James Gunn makes a point to get Cena naked as much as possible
DC Comics

Gunn has had major success with his Guardians of the Galaxy films and his most recent DC film The Suicide Squad. The critically acclaimed movie wound up making $55.8M domestic and $167.4M worldwide at the box office, versus the pre-pandemic haul of the 2016 installment which did $325.1M stateside and $746.8M worldwide. However, many fans watched it on HBO Max and continued to subscribe to the service because of such features.

“It’s been borne out that things didn’t work the best, but I have to say that process is working out incredibly well for me because of Peacemaker,” Gunn said. With movies and television having to fight for their audiences, a successful first season run for a show like this is a huge win for not only HBO, but for James Gunn. Exploring the very different characters from the expanded universe like Peacemaker and other members of the Suicide Squad can pose a bit of a challenge.

HBO is very pleased with the results of Gunn's efforts so a second season makes sense. You watch Peacemaker exclusively on HBO Max with new episodes airing every Thursday.