James Gunn has carved his namesake into the hearts of the last decade’s superhero craze. He started with the violent dark comedy “Super” starring Rainn Wilson and then toned that aspect down while still taking a unique property in the “Guardians of the Galaxy” franchise for Marvel. His next film – “The Suicide Squad” – looks to bring him back to R-rated territories behind a star-studded cast. And he already is taking one “hero” from that group in another adventure, this time on the small screen.
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That would be John Cena’s character in the amply titled series “Peacemaker” coming to HBOMax. In a sense, Gunn is working with a Captain America-esque character at the center of this series. Albeit this, Captain America is one willing to bloodily murder as many people as possible to find his way towards some semblance of peace.
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Cena has taken part in many gigantic productions, whether that has come from his decades-long wrestling career or roles in films like “Trainwreck,” “Bumblebee,” and, most recently, “F9,” the most recent entry in the Fast and Furious franchise. This, however, is his first dive into the superhero pool as this anti-hero.
He leads a cast that includes veterans Jennifer Holland, Robert Patrick, Danielle Brooks, and Chris Conrad. Holland is also reprising her role from “The Suicide Squad as NSA Agent Emilia Harcourt. The exact plot details of the series are still murky, but the series will explain the origins of the mercilessly aggressive character from Gunn’s next film.
Gunn plays around with the superhero genre excessively throughout his career, and this series should be another violent dive into this decades’ helm of stories. The show does have some competition in terms of bloody, adult-based hero shows like “The Boys” and “Invincible,” but Gunn is also the man to make a story about a talking tree and a raccoon come to life.
Cena – who also serves as an executive producer on the show – should have a major role in shaping the project as well. His performance in “The Suicide Squad” will give viewers more details about the series, but Cena is already taking part in a hero-esque franchise in “F9.” At this point, more stars are taking part in superhero properties than not. Maybe this will be a gorier property than one would expect from the WWE star, but Cena should pull off the show well.
Warner Brothers will release “Peacemaker” on HBOMax on January 13. Here’s the trailer below.