With the success of Superman (2025) still reverberating through the box office and The Fantastic Four: First Steps reinvigorating Marvel’s pulse, superhero fatigue may finally be in retreat. Now, James Gunn is seizing the moment. At this past weekend’s San Diego Comic-Con, he stunned fans by unveiling the first trailer for Peacemaker Season 2 — a wild, multiverse-hopping continuation of DC’s newest antihero saga starring John Cena.
Parallel Realities and Personal Reckonings
The official trailer makes it clear: this isn’t just another action-packed season. Set one month after the events of Superman, Peacemaker Season 2 finds Christopher Smith confronting not just interdimensional threats, but the demons within himself. Through a mysterious dimensional door — a legacy from his villainous father — Chris stumbles into a parallel universe where he’s loved, respected, and maybe even happy.
But this isn’t a vacation. With each jump, the cost becomes clearer. The door opens more than one world, including a nightmare dimension filled with skulls on spider legs and a confrontation with an alternate version of himself. The question looms: Will Peacemaker escape these pocket universes or be consumed by them?
Old Scores, New Faces: The DCU Expands
Adding intensity to the narrative is Frank Grillo’s Rick Flag Sr., hellbent on avenging his son’s death (Joel Kinnaman’s Rick Flag Jr., killed by Peacemaker in The Suicide Squad). Grillo’s inclusion is more than personal — it’s strategic, weaving connections between Peacemaker, Superman, Creature Commandos, and other chapters of Gunn’s interconnected DC Universe.
The 11th Street Kids are back in full force, with Danielle Brooks, Freddie Stroma, Jennifer Holland, and Steve Agee all reprising their fan-favorite roles. But the dynamics have shifted. Chris’s complicated feelings for Harcourt (Holland) and the emotional weight of guilt now threaten the team’s cohesion.
And then there’s The Justice Gang, introduced in Superman and now making waves here. Led by Nathan Fillion’s gleefully obnoxious Guy Gardner and bankrolled by Sean Gunn’s Maxwell Lord, this new supergroup could either help Peacemaker — or derail him completely.
James Gunn’s Wild Ride Continues
James Gunn wrote all eight episodes of Season 2 and directed three, including the premiere. The tone remains unmistakably his — a blend of brutal action, dark comedy, heartfelt introspection, and killer needle drops (Ozzy Osbourne’s “Road to Nowhere” sets the trailer ablaze).
Fittingly, this season’s opening dance sequence has been updated with “Oh Lord” by Foxy Shazam, promising another viral hit to rival Season 1’s unforgettable kickoff. Gunn seems unfazed by canon complexities, opting for a comic-book logic that keeps what works and discards the rest.
John Cena, speaking at SDCC, praised Gunn’s vision and shared how his commitment to the project runs deep: “He could ask me to go to the ends of the Earth and if I could do it, then I’ll do it… He’s changed my life completely.”
What’s Next for Peacemaker and the DCU?
Peacemaker Season 2 is more than just a follow-up — it’s a critical piece of the larger DCU Gunn is building. With cameos from Superman cast members like Isabela Merced’s Hawkgirl and Michael Rooker’s mysterious Red St. Wild, this season feels like the bridge between the old and new DC timelines.
The big mystery: Can Christopher Smith finally become more than the brutal instrument of peace he’s always been? Or will his darker instincts win out once more?
We’ll start finding out when Peacemaker Season 2 premieres on HBO Max on August 21, 2025.
