James Gunn’s HBO Max series Peacemaker debuted in 2022 in the last days of the DC Extended Universe launched by Zack Snyder’s 2013 film Man of Steel, and the show ended its first season with a Justice League cameo to acknowledge its place in the DC shared continuity. But when DC handed Gunn the keys to its cinematic kingdom, having him reboot the DC Universe starting with a new take on Superman, it put a renewed focus on what Gunn’s earlier DC work meant for the franchise’s future.
Gunn addresses those questions, along with many others, in Peacemaker: The Official Podcast, where he breaks down each of the show’s episodes along with Peacemaker actors Jennifer Holland and Steve Agee, plus some rotating guest stars. It’s well worth listening to the show for all the behind-the-scenes details about the music choices, stuntwork, and cut plots, and the running segment on everything from season 1 of the show that is and isn’t still canon in the new DCU. Here’s what’s still in, and what’s out under Gunn’s new rewritten reality.
Gunn kicked off season 2 by retconning the end of season 1, replacing the appearance of the Snyderverse Justice League with the members of the Justice Gang he introduced in Superman. Gunn has clarified that there is no Justice League yet in the DCU. He also addressed many of its key members, saying Flash and Wonder Woman will likely eventually exist in the DCU, but he hasn’t decided whether they’re currently active heroes like Superman, Hawkgirl, and Guy Gardner. The same goes for Green Arrow, who also gets a quick mention in Peacemaker season 1.
Aquaman isn’t a famous hero in the DCU yet, and if he does become one, he won’t be played by Jason Momoa again since, the actor is instead going to be playing the intergalactic bounty hunter Lobo in the upcoming movie Supergirl. That means Peacemaker hasn’t been spreading rumors about the Atlantean fucking fish. It’s likewise definitely not DC canon that Superman has a poop fetish, though Peacemaker thinks the Kryptonian does, because Peacemaker believes everything he reads on the internet.
In other possible recasting news, Gunn confirmed that the mercenary Clemson Murn, who helps Peacemaker stop an alien invasion in season 1, is part of the DCU canon, but his appearance isn’t. Murn died in season 1, and the clarification leaves Gunn free to have actor Chukwudi Iwuji play someone else in the DCU.
Given Peacemaker’s high body count, listeners wondered whether his claim that he “took down” Kite-Man means that the D-list villain is dead. Gunn clarified that he’s just in prison and could appear in the DCU. Kite-Man already has his own show, which is part of the separate canon of the animated series Harley Quinn.
Everything in Peacemaker season 2 should be considered canon, Gunn says. He’s clarified a bit about the dimension of imps that alternate-universe Chris visited as a child. The species Chris’ dad Auggie calls “munchkins” are related to some very powerful DC Comics characters: Batman’s biggest fan, Bat-Mite, and the trickster and Superman villain Mister Mxyzptlk. Presumably that’s also where Superman‘s “interdimensional imp” — the glowing, flying jellyfish creature the Justice Gang fights —originally came from.
Gunn extended his edicts beyond the DCU’s heroes and villains. He declared that Bob Clark’s 1981 comedy Porky’s canonically exists in the DCU, but not Porky’s II: The Next Day, because Gunn considers the 1983 film “far inferior.” Cheetos also exist, which is further proven by Judomaster continuing to constantly snack on them in Peacemaker season 2.
New episodes of Peacemaker: The Official Podcast arrive on Thursdays on YouTube and podcast platforms after the new episode of the show airs on HBO Max.
