HBO has released a trailer teasing what’s to come from the streamer in 2025, including a first look at DC Studios’ Peacemaker Season 2.
The footage shows John Cena reprise his role as mercenary Christopher Smith / Peacemaker in a toast with the other members of the 11th Street Kids gang: John Economos; Leota Adebayo; Emilia Harcourt; and Vigilante. Peacemaker declares: “No matter how far away we are from each other, no one will ever break us apart.”
Perhaps of more interest, however, is a first look at Frank Grillo’s Rick Flag Sr., a character he is set to voice in upcoming Max animated series Creature Commandos.
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In Creature Commandos, which kicks off James Gunn’s new DC Universe, Rick Flag Sr. is the general and team leader. But in Peacemaker Season 2, he’s out for revenge after the events of 2021’s The Suicide Squad.
Warning! Spoilers for The Suicide Squad follow.
In The Suicide Squad, Peacemaker kills Joel Kinnaman’s Rick Flag Jr. under orders from Amanda Waller. In Season 2 of Peacemaker, Rick Flag Sr. wants revenge for the death of his son.
This is all part of the new DCU, which will see Frank Grillo’s Rick Flag Sr. appear in the hotly anticipated Superman movie starring David Corenswet in July 2025. "He is a really cool character that Frank has been molding," Gunn told EW last month. "The character's also in Superman, and he's an incredibly important part in Peacemaker. He is one of the primary characters in Peacemaker Season 2. So we get to see this character from different angles, and he is not simple."
"This isn't just a good guy, not at all," Gunn continued. "We see all different sides of his character. He is morally a complex human being. Grillo is somebody who I've known for a little while, and I've wanted to work with him for a long time. He was one of the first people that I talked to when I took over the studio, like 'we're going to find something cool for you,' and now he is everywhere."
Last month, Gunn assured fans that the wealth of announced projects in the DCU's Chapter 1: Gods and Monsters are still in development despite a lack of updates on most.
Creature Commandos Episode 1 hits Max on December 5, and while DC Studios has rolled out updates on it and a handful of other projects like Superman, many of the announced DCU films and TV shows haven't been heard of since their initial reveal in January 2023.
Gunn has confirmed they're all still coming in a series of Threads posts, however, despite them going quiet and some projects shifting around. When asked by a fan if The Authority film is in pre-production or is sitting dormant, Gunn made clear those are not the only two options.
"Some scripts are in development, either looking for writers or being written or rewritten," he said. "When scripts are finished they're ready to be made, they are greenlit and then they are in production." He was then asked to clarify if it's safe to assume everything from the announced slate was in development, and Gunn simply replied "yes."
He confirmed in July that Creature Commandos and Superman are two of the projects in production, alongside the Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow film and two shows: Peacemaker Season 2 and Lanterns, which recently saw its two leads cast in Aaron Pierre and Kyle Chandler.
This leaves films The Brave and the Bold, Swamp Thing, and The Authority as in development, alongside shows Waller, Booster Gold, and Paradise Lost. Little is known about any of these, though some tidbits have emerged for a couple.
Swamp Thing, for example, will be written by Logan and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny director James Mangold, who's promised it will be a "simple, clean, gothic horror movie." DC has also confirmed The Flash director Andy Muschietti will lead Batman story The Brave and the Bold.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
