Given how bleak the start of Peacemaker season 2 looked, with Chris Smith, aka Peacemaker (John Cena), doubting his place in his friends’ lives, the season 2 finale’s fairly happy ending seemed suspicious from the start. Then Rick Flag Sr. kidnapped Chris and dropped him on an alien prison planet meant for metahumans like him, leaving fans with a massive cliffhanger. That was more like it.
It’s been nearly a year since we last saw Chris and the gang, but fans still wonder what’s next. Though showrunner and DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn has been pretty cryptic, Cena has a more recent update on everything happening with Peacemaker season 3.
Will there be a Peacemaker season 3?
In an interview with ‘Happy Sad Confused’, interviewer Josh Horowitz asked Cena whether he had worn Peacemaker’s oddly toilet-shaped steel helmet since the end of season 2.
“No,” Cena told Horowitz. “And when I put that helmet on, I told James, ‘Dude, I will put this helmet on as long as you need me to.’ I love working with him.”
This admission from Cena shouldn’t surprise many fans. Beyond Gunn implying that Peacemaker could appear in an upcoming DCU film, Gunn confirmed shortly after the Peacemaker season 2 finale on Peacemaker: The Official Podcast that the finale may be “the final episode of Peacemaker.”
Gunn clarified on the podcast that he is a true believer in the show and its characters, and that “Peacemaker will be back,” though not necessarily as a TV show.
“We have plans, but you’ll see all these characters in the future of the DCU, and not too long,” Gunn said.
As much as we may want more seasons of Peacemaker, it ultimately makes sense that a new season following only Chris and the gang might not happen. As Cena admits to Horowitz, Gunn has plenty of new toys to play with now that he’s in charge of the DCU.
“Because you get the whole box of toys, you have to address the really valuable ones first, and I understand that,” Cena explained. “[…] I got to step back. Let Superman and Batman get their due.”
It’s an understatement to say Gunn has a lot on his plate right now. Superman was hugely successful, while Supergirl was a critical disappointment and a solid blow to Gunn’s grip on the DC universe. So much so that plenty of naysayers — good-natured and otherwise — have been debating whether he’s the right man for the job.
With Superman: Man of Tomorrow ahead of him, Gunn has plenty of pressure on his shoulders. He’ll have to focus on major blockbuster wins to get the ship back on course before he can even consider a Peacemaker season 3.