Posted in: HBO, Max, Movies, TV | Tagged: dc studios, peacemaker

James Gunn on Justice League/New DCU Canon: "They Don't Exist Yet"

DC Studios' James Gunn on why the Justice League appearance in Peacemaker Season 1 didn't make the New DCU canon cut: "They don't exist yet."

One of the many questions that James Gunn has been hit with since it was announced that he and Peter Safran would be leading DC Studios to craft a New DCU has been regarding the first season of John Cena-starring Peacemaker. How much of "The Suicide Squad" spinoff series would be making the cut canon-wise in the new universe? Last month, Gunn offered a lot more clarity to the matter by noting that almost all of the first season happened – with the exception of the Justice League cameo that saw Jason Momoa's Aquaman and Ezra Miller's The Flash appearing. While some people have read into that about a dozen different ways, Gunn offered a so-obvious-why-are-we-still-debating-this response that makes perfect sense when you're putting together a New DCU.

Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter alongside Dean Lorey to promote Max's Creature Commandos, Gunn was asked if The Suicide Squad and the first season of Peacemaker should be seen as "prologues" to his and Safran's New DCU. "Yeah, they're light canon," Gunn responded. "'Peacemaker' is pretty straightforward, with the exception of the appearance by a certain group [Zack Snyder's Justice League] at the end. [Laughs] They don't exist yet. But the rule is: if we mention [something from the past] in one of the new DCU shows [and movies], then it happened. So that's the way we're dealing with it." Just so you know – we italicized the "yet" because it was italicized in THR's interview. Clearly, someone has some long-term Justice League plans.

Joining the cast for the season is Frank Grillo as Rick Flag, Sr. (from Creature Commandos), Sol Rodriguez (Star Trek: Picard) as Sasha Bordeaux, Tim Meadows (Mean Girls, Saturday Night Live) as ARGUS Agent Langston Fleury, and David Denman (Bosch: Legacy) in an undisclosed role. Behind the camera, Gunn also confirmed that Greg Mottola (Superbad) and Peter Sollett (Ordinary Joe) had been tapped to direct a few of the season's episodes. Now, here's a look back at the opening credits for the first season as we imagine what the opener for Season 2 will be like:

Steve Agee (Super, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Brightburn) rejoined Gunn and Cena for Peacemaker, reprising his film role of John Economos, a warden of Belle Reve Federal Penitentiary and an aide to Viola Davis' Amanda Waller. Danielle Brooks (Orange Is The New Black) joined the series as Leota Adebayo, with Robert Patrick (Terminator 2: Judgment Day) in the role of Auggie Smith. Jennifer Holland (Brightburn) reprised her film role of Emilia Harcourt, and Freddie Stroma (Bridgerton) took on the role of Adrian Chase, aka Vigilante. In addition, Chukwudi Iwuji (When They See Us) as Clemson Murn, Lochlyn Munro (Riverdale) as Larry Fitzgibbon, Annie Chang (Shades of Blue) as Detective Sophie Song, Christopher Heyerdahl (Togo) as Captain Locke, Nhut Le (Kroll Show) as Judomaster, and Elizabeth Faith Ludlow (The Walking Dead) and Rizwan Manji (Perfect Harmony) as recurring characters of Keeya and Jamil. Alison Araya (Riverdale) & Lenny Jacobson (Narcos: Mexico) were tapped for the roles of the married couple Amber and Evan, respectively.

James Gunn, Brad Anderson (Session 9), Rosemary Rodriguez (The Walking Dead), and Jody Hill (The Righteous Gemstones) directed the eight-episode series. Gunn and Peter Safran served as executive producers, with Cena as co-executive producer. Peacemaker was produced by James Gunn's Troll Court Entertainment and The Safran Company in association with Warner Bros TV. The series explores the origins of Cena's The Suicide Squad character, a man who believes in peace at any cost — no matter how many people he has to kill to get it.

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