James Gunn Throws Invisible Bone, Talks New 'Peacemaker' Intro And Characters
Tim Meadows AND Michael Rooker? Make peace now!
As the three-and-a-half-year wait for the second season of HBO Max’s Peacemaker comes to a close Thursday, August 21, fans had priorities with expectations long before the universe-jumping came into the picture. The first thing on everyone’s mind was how the show now under DC Studios was going to follow up its first opening sequence set to Wig Wam's "Do Ya Wanna Taste It”, and how whatever was going to replace it would stack up. It’s long been known one was necessary due to the casualties by the end of last season, but more has been revealed.
“You get to see Eagly try to dance for the first time," series creator and DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn teases. "So that's really something. He is not the best at it, but he tries to really join in the dance sequence at the end. He's got a little pose this time." And after a muted, transitional presence at San Diego Comic-Con last year, DC Studios is taking Peacemaker there this July, and star John Cena, who plays Peacemaker, promises the debut of the new theme sequence will happen there and be worth the wait. "This time around, everybody looked at it through a different lens, knowing how much the audience enjoyed the first one. [We knew] this is going to be a cornerstone of the show, so let's dive in. Everyone gave their best in season 1, but I just think people now know the importance of it and hopefully it shines through in season 2."
A Guy, A Girl, And A Peacemaker Make The Lord’s Work In 'Peacemaker' Season 2 Teaser Trailer
Merry Chris Smith everyone! After a sneak peek teaser earlier in the week that played during TNT’s NBA Playoffs coverage, the full official teaser trailer for Max’s Peacemaker, transplanting from the previous DC Extended Universe to the new DC Universe
In his talk with Entertainment Weekly, Gunn reinforces that they had no choice but to do a new opening sequence, but now from the perspective that not only were there the casualties, but a flurry of new cast members, like Frank Grillo reprising Rick Flag Sr., Tim Meadows as Langston Fleury, Sol Rodriguez as Sasha Bordeaux, David Denman in a still unconfirmed role, even Judomaster (played by Nhut Le) has a bigger role too that warrants bringing him into the intro sequence fray. All of which were revealed over the many months since the first time he revealed such. As for song choice, Gunn says "I really went back and forth an awful lot. And at the end of the day, I decided that we use a new song that's a little bit more about what the season's about." He acknowledges the billions of views of the first season’s sequence on TikTok alone, and that maybe the new one won’t find as much popularity, as lightning in a bottle can’t be caught twice. However, the surprises within the show itself, I think, replicate that many times over, because there's so many more twists and turns in this season with what happens and what you find out about this universe."
Speaking of this universe, Gunn has brought Michael Rooker, who, having collaborated as far back as 2006’s Slither, played Yondu Udonta in Gunn’s Marvel Cinematic Universe Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy (and Christmas special), as well as Brian Durlin aka Savant in the opening of The Suicide Squad where Peacemaker debuted in the previous DC universe, the DC Extended Universe, into the new one twice already. It started with voicing Sam Fitzgibbon in Creature Commandos’s “Cheers to the Tin Man”, as well as Kryptonian robot Five in Superman. So what is this new role? "We thought Eagly was probably the most popular character from season 1, and so in season 2, he has his own story with his nemesis… His name is Red St. Wild, and he's the world's foremost eagle hunter who is on a mission to kill Eagly.”
Meadows’s Langston Fleury is an ARGUS agent who gains his vibes thanks to Peacemaker's own character development. "In a lot of ways, Peacemaker has changed a lot this season. He's a much softer guy, he's a much nicer guy, he's less in your face and less obnoxious and less aggressive. He has changed as a human being, so… Fleury actually takes up a lot of being a total asshole in the same way Peacemaker was [last season]. He's a very politically incorrect asshole throughout most of the season, and also an incredibly funny guy."
The kind of workload Gunn took on between seasons, including the ascension to studio co-CEO, is a major contributor to the gap between seasons, though surely the dual strikes of 2023 didn’t help. Still, he says all the work managed to help the series, allowing to more organically weave season 2 into its new universe setting. "I developed it along the way, in conjunction with the other DC projects that we're doing, so it's very much connected to Superman and it's very much connected to what comes after. I had a rough idea of what I was going to do, but it was actually quite different than what the show ended up being."
The new season will also star Jennifer Holland (Emilia Harcourt), Freddie Stroma (Adrian Chase / Vigilante), Steve Agee (John Economos), and Robert Patrick as Chris’s dad, the late, now ghostly August Smith / White Dragon.If you don’t want to wait for San Diego Comic-Con for your Peacemaker season 2 panel, Cena and Gunn will be having one at CCXP Mexico on Sunday, June 1, promising “big surprises”.
Marvel Animation’s 'Eyes Of Wakanda' First Look Ships Out
February probably shouldn’t feel that long ago, but it has indeed been that long since Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man finished its first season on Disney+. Now, Marvel Animation is headed into its brief miniseries era to finish out its year, born from the era where Disney+ originals were needed in large quantity. First up is
Source: Entertainment Weekly