A new promotional clip for the upcoming Peacemaker show reveals John Cena’s Christopher Smith reuniting with Advanced Research Group Uniting Super-Humans (A.R.G.U.S.) personnel after the events of The Suicide Squad. James Gunn’s first DCEU small screen project will focus on the titular villain who is willing to take extreme measures to preserve peace. The events of Peacemaker will primarily take place after Task Force X’s mission in Corto Maltese, although Gunn has said that its storytelling will jump back and forth in time to explore the anti-hero’s origins.
The Suicide Squad effectively set up the aforementioned spin-off. As Amanda Waller’s planted operative, Peacemaker was hell-bent on ensuring that details of Project Starfish won’t be publicized, hence why he didn’t have any problem in killing Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman). Smith was supposed to go after Ratcatcher 2 (Daniela Melchior) next after she witnessed Flag’s murder, but Bloodsport (Idris Elba) arrived just in time to neutralize him. The surviving members of Task Force X left Corto Maltese, with with Peacemaker presumed dead in the ruins of Jötunheim. Little did they know that not only did he survive, he was also retrieved and cared for by ARGUS. Now, Waller (Viola Davis) already has another mission lined up for him.
In the freshly rolled-out Peacemaker clip by HBO Max, Smith is seen fully recovered from his fatal injuries. He meets some of the members of ARGUS, most notably Jennifer Holland’s Emilia Harcourt and Steve Agee’s John Economos. In the clip, Peacemaker is bullied by his team for his outlandish superhero costume and pet eagle, “Eagle-y.” The video ends with a tease for the show’s January premiere. Watch it below:
As seen in the clip, Smith has a penchant for wearing his eye-popping superhero costume everywhere he goes, and it seems like this will be a recurring joke in the Peacemaker show. It will be interesting to see if there’s actually a deeper meaning behind the anti-hero’s insistence that he wears this ensemble all the time. Depending on Waller’s new mission, he might need to carry it out on the down-low, and sporting his “uniform” will definitely only get him more attention. Aside from his clothes, there’s also a clear focus on the existence of his pet eagle. Gunn is no stranger to introducing odd but endearing characters, as evidenced by Guardians of the Galaxy‘s Rocket Racoon (voiced by Bradley Cooper) and Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel). Given these adorable but pivotal characters, fans will no doubt be excited to see how the Smith’s pet fits in to all of this.
The video doesn’t reveal anything about the character’s next mission. However, it effectively establishes the kind of dynamic he will have with his ARGUS team. Gunn previously teased that certain The Suicide Squad characters may pop up in the Peacemaker show; and the obvious choice for this is Waller. However, that may be too on the nose, and the director could shy away from bringing Davis’ character back in. Alternatively, seeing Smith reunite with Bloodsport would be very interesting to see, especially considering what happened the last time they saw each other. Nonetheless, with only a few months before the show drops on HBO Max, viewers can expect marketing for Peacemaker to pick up steam in the next few weeks, where more cameos may be revealed.
