Peacemaker Battles Inner Demons—and Himself—in S2

HBO Max injected a steady stream of DC-powered energy into San Diego Comic-Con this past weekend with a new look at the Emmy-nominated DC spinoff series Peacemaker from James Gunn. The full-length trailer for Season 2 of Peacemaker premiered at Comic-Con, serving as a first-look for fans at what to expect in the show’s return. From the glimpse it gives of the future, the new season is not only bigger and weirder than the last but also significantly more emotional.

Peacemaker was introduced in The Suicide Squad (2021) and returned to action for a self-titled solo show from director James Gunn on HBO Max. After a bloody first season set five months after the Corto Maltese mission of The Suicide Squad and featuring Smith’s (John Cena) recovery from a near-death gunshot wound, Peacemaker’s Season 1 saw him recruited by the U.S. government for a “deep undercover op,” codenamed “Project Butterfly.” Peacemaker joined a team from A.R.G.U.S., assembled and led by Clemson Murn (Chukwudi Iwuji), and aided by agents John Economos (Steve Agee) from A.R.G.U.S., Emilia Harcourt (Jennifer Holland) from the NSA, as well as a recruit, Leota Adebayo (Danielle Brooks).

Project Butterfly was not, in fact, a standard government operation. The team soon discovered they were up against an alien species that parasitized human hosts by taking the form of butterflies. Peacemaker, Adebayo, Harcourt, and Economos, with Clemson Murn acting as handler, dodged bullets and got inside the minds of both human and alien adversaries in an explosive mid-season finale that sent Peacemaker’s team of misfits running for their lives after a brutal showdown on a ranch where their peace mission went sideways. And they just barely lived to tell the tale. The creatures have been killed, the team members are alive, but the wounds, both physical and emotional, of this season remain raw.

Peacemaker is back and ready to dish out more of the “hilarious, shocking” and gun-heavy mayhem Gunn teased at SDCC, now in a newly expanded multiverse and DCU. Season 1 of Peacemaker existed in the DC Extended Universe, which has been abandoned in the wake of Zack Snyder’s Justice League’s critically divisive response at SDCC in 2017. Season 2, on the other hand, now takes place in the recently inaugurated and also Gunn-helmed DCU in the form of his own “Gods and Monsters” slate of storytelling projects. Gunn has also confirmed, however, that events from past seasons, including The Suicide Squad and Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, still count as canon for Peacemaker, outside of some of its bigger cameos, including members of the Justice League.

Season 1 stars John Cena, Danielle Brooks, Jennifer Holland, Steve Agee, and Freddie Stroma as the fan-favorite nutcase villain, Vigilante, are all returning to season 2, as are Nhut Le as Judomaster and Eagly, Peacemaker’s pet bald eagle sidekick. Robert Patrick returns as Peacemaker’s long-dead father, Auggie Smith, and the character is still very much an influence on the show. Frank Grillo is a new cast member this season as Rick Flagg Sr., the father of the titular superhero from Gunn’s 2023 film The Suicide Squad and someone gunning for revenge for the loss of his son, Rick Flagg, whom Peacemaker killed during the film. Michael Rooker is also returning to the DCU this season as Red St. Wild, Eagly’s nemesis. Tim Meadows is cast as A.R.G.U.S. agent Langston Fleury, while Sol Rodriguez plays Sasha Bordeaux, and Sean Gunn’s cousin Isabela Merced will also make an appearance as Hawkgirl/Kendra Saunders.

Per the official synopsis, the story follows Chris Smith as he deals with not only the repercussions of his brutal and, at times, morally reprehensible past, but also as he begins to truly consider that he might want to do and be better in the future. Peace at any cost is still very much the name of his game—but he now wants to work to earn it, and not just through doing the bidding of those with more power and less scruples. Peacemaker wants to be a hero.

In a teaser trailer shared in May ahead of SDCC, Gunn gave fans a first taste of the even greater absurdity, violence, and colorful character depth to come in Season 2. As the song Oh Lord by Foxy Shazam blasts through a trailer, clips show Chris stammering and sweating out an audition pitch to the Justice League—led by Green Lantern/Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion), Hawkgirl/Kendra Saunders (Isabela Merced), and Maxwell Lord (Sean Gunn)—on what makes him the perfect fit to join their team. The pitch flops spectacularly, of course.

The teaser also includes amusing updates on some of the characters. Agent Leota Adebayo has “moved on up to the worst level of Grand Theft Auto,” according to Economos, while agent Emilia Harcourt is suffering from “the worst, particularly male form of toxic masculinity.” As for the unhinged vigilante, he has somehow wound up working in the food service industry.

Perhaps the biggest surprise of the trailer, however, is the introduction of a dimensional portal. At one point in the trailer, Peacemaker walks into a room that takes him to another universe altogether. In this dimension, there is another Chris Smith—and he is already a celebrated and beloved hero in the other world. At first, Peacemaker wants to stay in the other dimension, as a rejected and pathetic superhero in his world, with all of the mental baggage that includes having had some romantic relationship failures. He believes he has a better chance in this world where his doppelganger has succeeded at life. Of course, Peacemaker’s past will not let him go that easily. A final shot has Harcourt smirking at Peacemaker as she declares, “No matter how green the grass is over there, you belong here. With us.”

During the Hall H panel at SDCC, Gunn revealed more about the show’s approach in its second season and what viewers can expect to see. Gunn, who is an executive producer and returning as showrunner, said that character change is a significant theme in Season 2. “I like TV shows where the characters don’t just return every season and they’re the same characters,” Gunn explained. “I want to see growth. I want to see change—and sometimes regression. Peacemaker is a different guy this year. He’s dealing with the demons he uncovered from the first season and trying to deal with them, and the world is not accepting him the way he is. They aren’t accepting him as a hero.”

Peacemaker’s second season will be available for streaming on HBO Max on August 21, 2025.