Peacemaker season 2


The second season of the American television series Peacemaker is based on the eponymous character from DC Comics. While the first season is a spin-off from the DC Extended Universe film The Suicide Squad, the second season is the third installment and the second television series in the DC Universe which is a "soft reboot" of the DCEU. The season continues the story of jingoistic vigilante Chris Smith / Peacemaker, who finds an alternate dimension where his father and brother are still alive and the family together is a highly regarded superhero team. It is set after the events of the DCU film Superman. It is produced by DC Studios with James Gunn as showrunner.
John Cena stars as the titular character alongside Danielle Brooks, Freddie Stroma, Jennifer Holland, Steve Agee, Frank Grillo, and Robert Patrick. The season was ordered in February 2022, with Gunn set to write and direct all eight episodes. Filming was expected to begin in 2023, but work was put on hold when Gunn was made co-CEO of DC Studios and switched focus to Superman. The spin-off series Waller was then prioritized, but later delayed by the 2023 Hollywood labor disputes, and in March 2024 Gunn announced that the second season of Peacemaker would now release first. Some filming occurred the next month, taking place simultaneously with Superman at Trilith Studios in Atlanta, Georgia. Principal photography for the season took place from June to November.
The season premiered on the streaming service HBO Max on August 21, 2025, and consisted of eight episodes. It received critical acclaim, with critics finding it to be better than the first season and praising Gunn's writing, story, characters, Cena's performance as well as the wider cast, emotional weight, and themes, though there was criticism for the humor and finale.

Episodes

Cast and characters

Main

  • John Cena as Chris Smith / Peacemaker: A jingoistic vigilante who believes in achieving peace at any cost. Cena also portrays an alternate version of Peacemaker from another reality, dubbed "Earth-2" by showrunner James Gunn, after the long-running alternate version of Earth as seen in DC Comics' multiverse. Myles Benson portrays a younger Chris in a flashback.
  • Danielle Brooks as Leota Adebayo: The daughter of former A.R.G.U.S. director Amanda Waller and a member of the 11th Street Kids.
  • Freddie Stroma as Adrian Chase / Vigilante: A self-proclaimed crimefighter who looks up to Peacemaker like an older brother. Stroma also portrays an alternate version of Vigilante from Earth-2, who is virtually identical in mannerisms to him except he considers Peacemaker-2 his arch-nemesis as a member of the Sons of Liberty. Kellen Boyle serves as the acting double for Vigilante in scenes where both Vigilantes interact with each other.
  • Jennifer Holland as Emilia Harcourt: A member of Team Peacemaker, and former A.R.G.U.S. agent. Holland also portrays an alternate version of Harcourt from Earth-2, who was previously in a relationship with Peacemaker-2.
  • Steve Agee as John Economos: An A.R.G.U.S. agent who previously provided tactical support for Team Peacemaker. Following the events of the first season, Economos now continues to work under Rick Flag Sr. to monitor Peacemaker's activities.
  • Frank Grillo as Rick Flag Sr.: The new acting director of A.R.G.U.S. and the father of Suicide Squad leader Rick Flag Jr. Flag Sr. is angry about the death of his son at the hands of Peacemaker in the film The Suicide Squad, and views Peacemaker as a threat because of this. Gunn said Flag Sr. and Peacemaker have "unfinished business to take care of", Gunn enjoyed evolving the character in the DC Universe from his introduction as a protagonist in the animated series Creature Commandos. Flag Sr. has dark hair in the season, rather than grey hair as in Creature Commandos, because Grillo was filming the series Tulsa King simultaneously with Peacemaker and Gunn felt temporary hair dye would not look good. His in-universe explanation was that Flag Sr. dyed his hair due to vanity and ego.
  • Robert Patrick as Auggie Smith / Blue Dragon: An alternate heroic variant from Earth-2 of Peacemaker's white supremacist father, the White Dragon, who was killed by him in the first season. Patrick also portrays the original Auggie in a flashback.

    Recurring

  • David Denman as Keith Smith / Captain Triumph: Peacemaker's brother who is still alive on Earth-2, and is part of the "Top Trio" team as a superhero alongside him and Auggie. Bryson Haney portrays a younger Keith from the original timeline in a flashback, replacing Liam Hughes who previously portrayed young Keith in the first season.
  • Sol Rodríguez as Sasha Bordeaux: An A.R.G.U.S. agent who is outfitted with cybernetic enhancements after a near-fatal accident.
  • Tim Meadows as Langston Fleury: An A.R.G.U.S. agent assigned by Bordeaux to supervise Economos with monitoring Peacemaker.
  • Reinaldo Faberlle as Vega: An A.R.G.U.S. agent who raids Peacemaker's home.
  • Brandon Stanley as Kline: An A.R.G.U.S. agent who raids Peacemaker's home.
  • Nhut Le as Rip Jagger / Judomaster: A martial artist who previously crossed paths with the 11th Street Kids, and is now hired by A.R.G.U.S. to apprehend Peacemaker
  • Michael Rooker as Red St. Wild: The world's foremost eagle hunter who is hired by A.R.G.U.S. to kill Eagly

    Guest

  • Sean Gunn as Maxwell Lord: The owner of LordTech and financial backer of the superhero group Justice Gang. James Gunn described Lord as a "morally grey" character inspired by his earlier comic appearances as he wanted to avoid an adaptation of Lord's supervillain identity that is shown in the current comics for future DCU appearances.
  • Isabela Merced as Kendra Saunders / Hawkgirl: A superhero with wings and various melee weapons who is a Justice Gang member
  • Nathan Fillion as Guy Gardner / Green Lantern: An abrasive galactic peacekeeper in the Green Lantern Corps and a Justice Gang member
  • Elizabeth Ludlow as Keeya Adebayo: Leota's ex-wife
  • Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor: The incarcerated former CEO of LuthorCorp and the arch-nemesis of Superman
  • Stephen Blackehart as Sydney Happersen: An incarcerated employee of LuthorCorp
  • Lochlyn Munro as Larry Fitzgibbon: The Earth-2 variant of an Evergreen police detective who was killed and possessed by a Butterfly alien during the first season
  • Terence Rosemore as Otis Berg: A LuthorCorp employee
  • James Hiroyuki Liao as General Stephen Mori: the U.S. Secretary of Defense
  • Matthew and Gunnar Nelson as themselves
Joel Kinnaman appears uncredited as Rick Flag Jr., the former field commander of Task Force X killed by Peacemaker on Corto Maltese during "Project Starfish". Kinnaman also portrays an alternate Flag Jr. who works for A.R.G.U.S. on Earth-2 and is dating that world's Harcourt. Additionally, Michael Ian Black reprises his role from the DCU film Superman as talk show host Cleavis Thornwaite. Brey Noelle briefly appears as Jaina Hudson / White Rabbit, a superhero who interviewed with the Justice Gang and was rejected. Anissa Matlock portrays A.R.G.U.S. agent Angler, who raids Peacemaker's home, Taylor St. Clair portrays Vigilante's mother, Mrs. Chase, and Dorian Kingi portrays an alien who frequently encounters Peacemaker in the Quantum Unfolding Chamber. Richard Galinson and Savannah Koningen serve as the alien's puppeteers. Peacemaker's pet bald eagle, Eagly, returns from the first season, voiced by Dee Bradley Baker. The rock band Foxy Shazam, who performs the season's opening theme song "Oh Lord", also appears as themselves.

Production

Development

, creator and showrunner of the DC Extended Universe series Peacemaker, said in August 2021 that he wanted to make a second season and was committed to doing so if the series was renewed. He reiterated this after the first season premiered in January 2022, despite he and star John Cena not yet having deals to return for a second season and Gunn wanting to take a break after a busy few years. Gunn did not formally agree to make a second season until he had worked out what he wanted the overall character arcs to be, as he and Cena did not want to agree to something that they would not love to make. Streaming service HBO Max officially announced the second season in February 2022, with Gunn set to write and direct all episodes. He said it would explore the repercussions, good and bad, of the first season's events.
Discovery, Inc. and Warner Bros.' parent company WarnerMedia merged in April 2022 to become Warner Bros. Discovery, led by president and CEO David Zaslav. The new company was expected to restructure DC Entertainment and Zaslav began searching for an equivalent to Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige to lead the new subsidiary. After the surprise cancellation of DC's Batgirl film by WBD in August, Gunn said the second season of Peacemaker was "safe", and would begin filming in 2023. Gunn and producer Peter Safran were announced as the co-chairs and co-CEOs of the newly formed DC Studios at the end of October 2022. A week after starting their new roles, the pair had begun working with a group of writers to develop an eight-to-ten-year plan for a new DC Universe that would be a "soft reboot" of the DCEU. Gunn and Safran said some cast members would return from their film The Suicide Squad and the first season of Peacemaker in the DCU, and a "rough memory" of those events would remain in the new universe. Because Gunn was busy with his new responsibilities, the second season of Peacemaker was put on hold by January 2023. In February, Gunn said the series was delayed by his work on the first DCU film, Superman, but it was not canceled and would be made after the spin-off series Waller. He said Peacemaker second season was his next project after Superman, and would be part of the DCU's Chapter One: Gods and Monsters slate of content.
Gunn said in October 2023 that the season would address its change from the DCEU continuity to the DCU continuity. He stated that the first season was not canon to the DCU, but later clarified that most of the first season's events are canon to the DCU except for specific moments such as the appearance of the DCEU's Justice League. In March 2024, Gunn revealed that Waller had been delayed by the 2023 Hollywood labor disputes and the second season of Peacemaker would now be made first. Production was set to take place simultaneously with Superman later in 2024, in the interest of getting the season ready as soon as possible, so Gunn was no longer able to direct all of the episodes. He ultimately directed three episodes, including the first, with Greg Mottola, Peter Sollett, and Alethea Jones also directing.