John Cena recaps The Suicide Squad in character as Peacemaker in this hilarious new promo for his upcoming HBO Max TV series. After DC fans were introduced to Christopher Smith, the world’s most violent pacifist, in summer 2021’s Task Force X sequel, Cena is back for his very own spinoff show that’s about to hit streaming this week. Before it gets here, this promo recaps everything you need to know about Peacemaker’s DCEU debut.
As shared by writer/director James Gunn on Instagram, the three-minute promo features Cena in costume as Smith alongside Jennifer Holland, who is likewise reprising her role as Emilia Harcourt from The Suicide Squad in Peacemaker. Cena reviews what he went through in the movie, stretching the truth along the way, with Harcourt on fact-checking duty.
“Need a refresher on what happened to Peacemaker in The Suicide Squad?” Gunn wrote in his caption. “Peacemaker and Harcourt are here to help (well, kind of). Get up to speed and watch them take on Project Butterfly in #Peacemaker premiering January 13.”
Having played his part in Project: Starfish — the mission to take down Starro the Conqueror in Mexico — Peacemaker is now being employed to undertake Project: Butterfly. As Smith says in the video, the similar name has him convinced he’s about to battle Mothra, but Harcourt denies that the TV series will feature another kaiju-sized threat. The nature of the threat this time around is something we have yet to discover.
Cena and Harcourt, as well as fellow TSS vet Steve Agee (who plays Harcourt’s colleague John Economos) are joined by an ensemble cast of newcomers in Peacemaker. Danielle Brooks, Chukwudi Iwuji, Robert Patrick, and Freddie Stroma, as DC comics hero Adrian Chase/Vigilante, are also on board for the eight-part series.
The very first DCEU TV production, Peacemaker has been met by mostly middling reactions so far, although it’s doing well on Rotten Tomatoes. US fans, don’t miss the first three episodes when they premiere on HBO Max this Thursday. Everyone else, Gunn is working on it.