Posted in: AMC, HBO, Preview, streaming, Trailer, TV | Tagged: amc, better call saul, hbo max, james gunn, John Cena, peacemaker

Peacemaker: James Gunn on "Better Call Saul" Influence & Similarities

Happy Peacemaker Day! That's right, James Gunn and HBO Max's John Cena-starring Peacemaker is officially bringing peace to streaming screens everywhere (with the number of global screens continuing to grow) with its three-episode premiere. So what that means is that Gunn, Cena, and the rest of the team have been hitting the promo circuit to make sure everyone knows everything they need to know about the series. What we like about those are the cool bits of intel you learn along the way. Case-in-point? Gunn sat down for an interview with The Hollywood Reporter to explain much of an influence Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould's "Breaking Bad" spinoff prequel series Better Call Saul was on his series from a story-telling standpoint, and the similarities he sees between Cena's Christopher and Bob Odenkirk's Jimmy McGill/Saul Goodman

"I think it's more just in terms of the moments in Peacemaker where we're sitting in a restaurant, Fennel Fields, with our main characters and they're talking. It's the ability to take its time in telling the story," Gunn explained. "Both Saul and Chris are kind of sad-sack characters who are really good at one thing and then really bad at a lot of other things. So I think it's really just taking that incredibly smart dialogue, that relaxed nature of grounded life, and then mixing that with the other things that I wanted to do with the show. But I love 'Better Call Saul.' I think it's one of the best shows on TV, if not the best." In that spirit, in the following clip, our main man is just trying to get through another screwed-up situation as smoothly as possible. Except that Amber (Alison Araya) and Evan (Lenny Jacobson) have other ideas. Ideas that turn Peacemaker into a marriage counselor- assuming he doesn't have sex with Amber, that is:

So for those of you who were wondering what potential fallout would be for Peacemaker post-The Suicide Squad, check out the clip below. And don't forget that the first three episodes ("A Whole New Whirled," "Best Friends Never" & "Better Goff Dead") of HBO Max's Peacemaker will be hitting the streamer on January 13:

And here's a look back at the intro videos released last week that introduced us to the members of "Project: Butterfly": Christopher Smith aka Peacemaker, Eagly, Chukwudi Iwuji's Clemson Murn, Jennifer Holland"s Emilia Harcourt, Danielle Brooks's Leota Adebayo, Steve Agee's John Economos, and Freddie Stroma's Adrian Chase aka Vigilante:

Now here's a look back at the wonderfully NSFW trailer that was released early on New Year's Day for HBO Max's Peacemaker:

From his shiny helmet & uniform to his pet bald eagle pal, Eagly (yup), see what happens when Peacemaker gets a serious roasting ("Did this dipshit really show up in full cosplay mode?") in this previously-released preview:

Steve Agee (Super, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Brightburn) rejoins Gunn and Cena when he reprises his film role of John Economos, a warden of Belle Reve Federal Penitentiary and an aide to Viola Davis' Amanda Waller (the actor also portrays King Shark in the film). Danielle Brooks (Orange Is The New Black) joins the series as Leota Adebayo, with Robert Patrick (Terminator 2: Judgment Day) in the role of Auggie Smith. Jennifer Holland (Brightburn) reprises her film role of Emilia Harcourt, and Freddie Stroma (Bridgerton) takes 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. Recently, Alison Araya (Riverdale) and Lenny Jacobson (Narcos: Mexico) have been tapped for the roles of the married couple Amber and Evan, respectively.

Gunn, Brad Anderson (Session 9), Rosemary Rodriguez (The Walking Dead), and Jody Hill (The Righteous Gemstones) direct the eight-episode series. Gunn and The Suicide Squad producer Peter Safran will serve as executive producers, with Cena as co-executive producer. Peacemaker will be produced by Gunn's Troll Court Entertainment and The Safran Company in association with Warner Bros TV. Though specific details on the series are being kept under the same kind of wraps as the film was, Peacemaker 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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