Posted in: HBO, Max, Movies | Tagged: peacemaker, superman

Peacemaker: James Gunn on Those David Corenswet/Superman Rumors

Peacemaker writer/director James Gunn addresses whether or not David Corenswet's Superman will appear and that "Man of Tomorrow" set-up.

To say that folks will be discussing this week's episode of DC Studios and writer/director James Gunn's John Cena-starring Peacemaker between now and the next episode would be a righteous understatement. By the time the credits rolled on S02E06 "Ignorance Is Chris," a lot of our worst fears were confirmed. That's right,  Chris's (Cena) "perfect" new dimension was actually based on DC Comics' Earth-X, a universe where Germany won World War II, which Len Wein and Dick Dillin created and that first appeared in October 1973's Justice League of America #107. Meanwhile, Rick Flag Sr. (Frank Grillo) pays Nicholas Hoult's Lex Luthor a very important visit that sets the stage for where things are going with Gunn's upcoming 2027 film, Man of Tomorrow. Here's a look back at what went down, with Gunn dumping some cold water on the rumors that David Corenswet's Superman will appear and clarifying how long the Lex Luthor storyline has been in play. Just in case, we're throwing on the "MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD!" sign, even though everyone is already talking about it…

When Earth II Officially Became Earth-X…

Adrian, aka Vigilante (Freddie Stroma), met up with his other self in the new dimension, and they agreed on everything – except one big thing. In the new dimension, Peacemaker is Vigilante's arch-enemy, with the new dimension version revealing that he's the reason why he joined the "Sons of Liberty" – clearly a resistance group. After Chris and our Harcourt (Jennifer Holland) speak in the new dimension, the two walk through Chris's headquarters when Harcourt mentions that she hasn't seen any people of color. At first, Chris scoffs at her observation, but then the big reveal comes: instead of stars on the U.S. Flag, there's a Nazi symbol.

Meanwhile, Adebayo (Danielle Brooks) takes a break from Economos (Steve Agee) to go for a walk to clear her head in Chris's home neighborhood, when she notices people looking at her with fear and panic. Before long, Keith (David Denman) jumps from his vehicle and screams about "a Black" getting loose, and the last we see is Adebayo running with a mob chasing her. The reference that people of color are being imprisoned hits hard and sets up would could be a brutally painful penultimate episode to the season.

Peacemaker: Lex Luthor Enters the Scene…

After hitting a brick wall on how to find Chris, aka Peacemaker, Rick Flag Sr. makes a trip out to Belle Reve maximum security prison to meet with a special prisoner: Lex Luthor. I mean, if you need an expert on dimensional portals, it would seem that Lex would be the one to go to. Limping into their one-on-one with a cane in hand in the middle of serving his 250+-plus-year prison sentence (that's what you get for messing with Krypto), Lex throws a whole lot of "I Told You So" points at Rick about meta-humans. He also offers a very "descriptive" anecdote about the metahuman sounds that haunt him in Belle Reve, but we could never do it the justice that Hoult's delivery gives it. After reminding him that he can't out-negotiate him, so he shouldn't even try, Lex asks Rick to cut to the chase about what he wants.

While Lex makes it clear that he doesn't know (or care about) Peacemaker, his interest piques when Rick mentions the portable QUC (Quantum Unfolding Chamber) device that Chris uses. When Lex asks why Rick needs to find Chris and the device, Rick shares that it's to prevent another rift… and adds that he has an "idea," one "which could be beneficial to all of us." Lex wonders if being able to track the device would be enough to earn his freedom, but Rick shuts that down. Instead, Rick shares that the U.S. Government is prepared to offer him "a shot at redemption." Now, Lex is all ears.  Later, Rick is checking out from visiting Lex when Sasha (Sol Rodríguez) asks if the meeting was successful. Rick tells her he got what he needed and that Lex was being transferred to a new facility (non-metahuman, we're assuming). When she follows up by asking what else is in the deal, Rick responds, "Other than now, we're partners with Lex Luthor."

Gunn Shuts Down David Corenswet/Superman Rumors (Earth 1 or Earth-X): "No. In fact, David was very upset that Nick got to be on the show, and he didn't. It just didn't work. I needed Lex in the show to serve a specific purpose. And actually, what Lex and Rick Flag are up to affects very much what happens in an aspect of 'Man of Tomorrow.' So all of that is connected. But this relationship between Rick Flag and Lex Luthor is a potentially negative thing for Superman and all meta-humans.

Gunn Has That Lex Luthor Storyline in Mind For Some Time Now: "I didn't know some things about it, but I knew what the overall story of the DCU was. That was something I pitched to [Warner Bros. Discovery CEO] David Zaslav before we even took the job. I'm like, here's the story. There's going to be this movie, this show, this movie, this show, and those things all fit in in different ways. Some things came, like "Clayface," that we didn't expect, and other things have been a harder road to travel. But the general outline of that overall story is what we are following through "Superman," "Peacemaker," "Man of Tomorrow," and beyond."

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