Peacemaker season 2

The second season of the American superhero television series Peacemaker is based on the DC Comics character of the same name. It is set in the DC Universe (DCU) and serves as a "soft reboot" of the series, which started as a spin-off from the 2021 DC Extended Universe (DCEU) film The Suicide Squad. The season continues the story of jingoistic mercenary Christopher Smith / Peacemaker. It is produced by DC Studios with James Gunn as showrunner.

John Cena stars as the title character, reprising his role from The Suicide Squad, with Danielle Brooks, Freddie Stroma, Jennifer Holland, Steve Agee, Frank Grillo, Sol Rodríguez, David Denman, and Tim Meadows also starring. 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 the film Superman (2025). The spin-off series Waller was then prioritized over the season, but Waller was delayed by the 2023 Hollywood labor disputes and in March 2024, Gunn announced that the season would now come first. Filming began the next month, taking place simultaneously with Superman at Trilith Studios in Atlanta, Georgia.

The season is set to premiere on the streaming service Max and consist of eight episodes.

Episodes
Gunn directed two other episodes of the season.

Cast and characters
The leader of the Creature Commandos and the father of Suicide Squad leader Rick Flag Jr., who was killed by Peacemaker in the film The Suicide Squad (2021). Showrunner James Gunn said Flag Sr. and Peacemaker had some "unfinished business to take care of" because of this.
 * John Cena as Christopher Smith / Peacemaker: A jingoistic mercenary who believes in achieving peace at any cost
 * Danielle Brooks as Leota Adebayo: The daughter of A.R.G.U.S. leader Amanda Waller and a member of Team Peacemaker
 * Freddie Stroma as Adrian Chase / Vigilante: A self-proclaimed crimefighter who looks up to Peacemaker like an older brother
 * Jennifer Holland as Emilia Harcourt: An A.R.G.U.S. agent and member of Team Peacemaker
 * Steve Agee as John Economos: An A.R.G.U.S. agent who provides tactical support for Team Peacemaker
 * Frank Grillo as Rick Flag Sr.:
 * Sol Rodríguez as Sasha Bordeaux
 * Tim Meadows as Langston Fleury: An A.R.G.U.S. agent

David Denman has been cast in an undisclosed role. Peacemaker's pet bald eagle, Eagly, returns from the first season.

Development
James Gunn, creator and showrunner of the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) 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 (later renamed 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 (WBD), 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 (DCU) 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. 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 (2025), but it was not cancelled and would be made after the spin-off series Waller. He later clarified that the second season of Peacemaker was his next project after Superman, and said it 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. In March 2024, he clarified that the first season was not canon to the DCU and said the second season would be continuing from the events of Superman instead. At that time, he 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 also directing two episodes.

Writing
Gunn was writing the season by October 2023, following the conclusion of the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike, and he finished writing all eight episodes by early February 2024.

Casting
John Cena confirmed that he would be returning as Peacemaker for the second season when it was officially ordered in February 2022. In April 2023, when announcing the cast of the DCU animated series Creature Commandos (2024), Gunn said there were already plans for some of the voice actors to reprise their roles in live-action DCU projects and specifically highlighted Frank Grillo as being cast in the role of Rick Flag Sr. across all DCU media. That July, Gunn said Freddie Stroma would reprise his first-season role as Adrian Chase / Vigilante in the DCU. Also reprising their roles from the first season are Danielle Brooks as Leota Adebayo, Jennifer Holland as Emilia Harcourt, and Steve Agee as John Economos. In May 2024, Gunn announced that Grillo would be reprising his role as Flag throughout the second season of Peacemaker. Sol Rodríguez, David Denman, and Tim Meadows were cast the following month, with Rodríguez portraying Sasha Bordeaux and Meadows cast as Langston Fleury.

Filming
Gunn said in March 2024 that filming was scheduled to begin later that year, simultaneously with production on Superman, at Trilith Studios in Atlanta, Georgia. Filming began on April 13, with Gunn doing a "pre-shoot" on a Saturday to work around his Superman filming commitments. He was directing three of the episodes and had hired three other directors for the season, including Greg Mottola, who directed the second and third episodes. Principal photography for the season is reportedly taking place between June and September 2024.

Title sequence
After the first season's opening title sequence received positive responses, Gunn said they wanted to "up [their] game" for the second season. Charissa Barton returned to choreograph the second season's title sequence.

Release
The season is set to premiere on Max.