James Gunn’s Gods and Monsters Slate Expands With Peacemaker S2

HBO Max made a grand entrance to San Diego Comic-Con this past weekend, dropping a first-look full-length trailer for Season 2 of Peacemaker, the Emmy-nominated DC spinoff series from James Gunn. The full trailer offers the first extensive peek at what’s next for John Cena’s Christopher Smith (aka Peacemaker), and it’s true to its promise of “absurd chaos and epic redemption” but also seemingly bigger, weirder, and more emotional than Season 1.

Peacemaker’s eight-episode first season took place five months after the events of The Suicide Squad (2021) and the Corto Maltese mission. Smith barely survived an attempt to kill him at the season premiere after being shot in the back, an act that left him scarred and changed, as well as being briefly taken in and mentored by Black Terror. He was later re-recruited by the U.S. government for a special undercover mission code-named “Project Butterfly” that saw him join a new team led by Clemson Murn (Chukwudi Iwuji) and supported by A.R.G.U.S. agent John Economos (Steve Agee), NSA agent Emilia Harcourt (Jennifer Holland), and recruit Leota Adebayo (Danielle Brooks).

Project Butterfly turned out to be something far different than a simple government black ops mission. The newly assembled team was tasked with infiltrating a new alien threat bent on ridding Earth of humanity by inhabiting their bodies. In the finale, the motley crew defeated the otherworldly butterflied creatures in a bloody ranch showdown and narrowly escaped with their lives, but with many a serious injury, both physical and emotional.

Peacemaker now returns to a much-changed DC Universe after Season 1 took place inside the former DCEU. Season 2 will instead exist in the very recently introduced DCU (DC Universe), a fresh multiversal slate launched by Gunn himself as part of his “Gods and Monsters” storytelling universe. Gunn also confirmed that events of the past (sans cameo cameos by other members of the Justice League) still count as canon.

On board for a second helping are Cena, Brooks, Holland, Agee, and Freddie Stroma as the fan-favorite unhinged superhero Vigilante. Nhut Le also returns as Judomaster, as does Eagly, Peacemaker’s real-life loyal bald eagle sidekick. Robert Patrick will also reprise his role from the season finale as Peacemaker’s dead father, Auggie Smith, whose memory still haunts his son. Peacemaker’s big new Season 2 additions include Frank Grillo as Rick Flagg Sr., father of The Suicide Squad’s late Rick Flagg (Pablo Schreiber), killed by Peacemaker’s hand in the Snyder Cut. Grillo will play Flagg Sr., now running the A.R.G.U.S. and looking for vengeance. He will be joined by Tim Meadows as agent Langston Fleury, Sol Rodriguez as Sasha Bordeaux, and Michael Rooker as Red St. Wild, who is called Eagly’s “nemesis.”

The official synopsis describes this new season as one in which Chris Smith faces both the emotional toll of his violent history and a budding desire to become a better man. He still aims for peace at all costs—but now he wants to earn it as a hero, rather than through blind obedience.

A teaser dropped in May offered early, promising looks at the absurdity and intensity to come. Set to Foxy Shazam’s “Oh Lord,” the wild video showed glimpses of Chris attempting to become a Justice League member (complete with Green Lantern/Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion), Hawkgirl/Kendra Saunders (Isabela Merced), and Maxwell Lord (Sean Gunn) all reprising their roles from Superman). His awkward introduction to the team is one of the few promising ways to join their ranks, of course, and he naturally lands flat.

The teaser also had fun with new character updates. Adebayo is now, as per Economos, “living in the worst level of Grand Theft Auto.” Harcourt needs a “pillow to crawl back into” due to her “particularly severe form of toxic masculinity,” while Vigilante now works in the food service industry.

Perhaps the trailer’s most shocking reveal? A dimensional portal. A fan-blown pea pod has turned into a full multiversal wormhole that Chris slips into and discovers an alternate reality. In this parallel universe, he runs into a very different version of himself. This alternate Chris is loved and cherished by the world for being a real hero, much to his current self’s dismay. It’s implied that the accepted Peacemaker has had romance in his life, though in his world, he’s still single, which frustrates him to a point where he considers taking the portal and staying in the new multiverse forever. But of course, the past cannot stay in the past, and Harcourt leaves him with a final sobering line: “No matter how green the grass is over there, you belong here. With us.”

James Gunn, who presented during a Hall H SDCC panel, assured fans that Season 2 is very much focused on character growth and transformation. “I like TV shows where the characters don’t just come back every season and they’re the same characters,” Gunn stated. “I like to see growth, I like to see change, I like sometimes to see regression. Peacemaker is a different guy this year. He’s dealing with the demons that he uncovered from last year’s story, and he’s trying to deal with them. But the world is not accepting him the way he is. They aren’t accepting him as a hero.”

It seems as though Season 2 of Peacemaker will manage to be bigger, weirder, and more emotional than Season 1 by hitting that sweet spot of blending the action-packed, over-the-top humor fans enjoyed with new character work and multiversal storytelling. The question of whether Peacemaker can ever finally come to terms with who he is as a person, or who he truly wants to be, will be answered by next year.

Peacemaker Season 2 premieres August 21, 2025, exclusively on HBO Max.