When James Gunn ascended to one of the two the DC Studios thrones earlier this year, it became clear that comic book film fans won 2023 by proxy; having proved his chops for close to a decade now in the form of the Guardians franchise, The Suicide Squad, and Peacemaker, you’d be hard pressed to find someone better for the job of leading the new DC Universe charge.
But his most incredible comic book franchise achievement could be cooking behind the scenes as we speak; as the world begins to embrace the whispers of the next Mortal Kombat game (reportedly titled Mortal Kombat 1), one such rumor in the pile is the possibility of Peacemaker, Gunn’s golden boy from The Suicide Squad and the star of the film’s spinoff series Peacemaker, making it into the roster.
Now, while helming DC Studios is difficult to dethrone as one’s greatest DC-related achievement, the nuances of Peacemaker possibly squaring up against Sub-Zero and Scorpion is a testament to the life that Gunn is capable of injecting into these characters.
Before the Guardians mastermind made his splash with The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker, the titular jingoistic mercenary was a relative nobody in of DC’s large gallery of characters, so for him to now possibly be in the running as a guest character for one of the most iconic gaming franchises of all time is the perfect example of what Gunn’s tinkering and sheer love for these stories is capable of doing for these characters.
Indeed, if Peacemaker’s rise is any indication of what we’re in for with the new DC Universe, we could very well be entering the golden era of superhero screen media, and while that sentence won’t bring a smile to every face, if anyone can change the mind of even the most vitriolic cape hater, it’s Gunn.
In the meantime, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Gunn’s capstone Marvel film, is currently playing in theaters.