James Gunn Teases Second Suicide Squad Spinoff After Peacemaker Success, Possible Season 2

While it came as a bit of a surprise when it was announced, HBO Max has achieved tremendous success with its Suicide Squad spinoff, Peacemaker. With John Cena as the titular character (his word), Gunn was heavily involved in the series, bringing his signature character, sneer and humor to the expanded world of Peacemaker.

Less an anti-hero and more an a-hole, Peacemaker is certainly the sort of superhero Gunn likes to explore. And it turns out he’s not the only Suicide Squad antihero Gunn has more to say about.

“We’re working on something different now, another TV show that’s connected to this universe,” Gunn told Deadline on Thursday. “I can not say exactly.”

It’s probably too much to believe that Margot Robbie would be interested in a full-fledged live-action Harley Quinn series, or even Idris Elba’s Bloodsport, but there are still plenty of great characters and spaces to explore. An obvious one would be the series’ most likable character, Ratcatcher 2.

Described by Gunn as the “heart of the film,” Daniela Melchior brought a lot of humanity to the character, even going so far as to bond with King Shark.

Honestly, we’d watch a buddy comedy with the two of them any day of the week, but Gunn said the new kernel he’s enthusiastically developing is actually very different from Peacemaker.

“I don’t think it will be the same genre as ‘Peacemaker’, it won’t be as much a comedy as ‘Peacemaker’,’ but it will be in the same universe.” With Viola Davis, could we get a dark, twisted Amanda Waller origin story? You know that would be amazing!

As for Peacemaker himself, when asked if the success of his launch bodes well for a second season, Gunn remarked, “The odds are really good,” adding, “We’re the biggest show in the world right now.”

In fact, he all but confirmed it later, saying, “We all like to do it, we just have to cross some Ts and put some dots, which is basically me.” That certainly sounds like it’s all about that to finalize the details, maybe some contracts, get the ideas approved and then implement them.

Cena is clearly having a lot of fun in the role and manages to begrudgingly sympathetic to a rather awful character – despite us.

Perhaps ironically, while filming Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 3, James Gunn spoke about his growing workload in the DC Extended Universe. With all these new Suicide Squad ideas, where is his original band of misfits?

“This is the end for us. This is the last time people will see this team of Guardians,” Gunn told Deadline. As for closing her chapter now, Gunn noted, “I just want to be true to the characters, and I want to be true to the story, and I want to give people the closure that the story deserves. So that’s always a bit scary, I’m doing my best.”

Of course, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, you never really say never. Certainly the cast of the Guardians of the Galaxy in the comics has changed a lot over the years, so it could be that their respective stories continue.

At the same time, but when “Vol. 3” hits theaters on May 5, 2023, it will be almost a decade since Chris Pratt first got buffed to play Star-Lord (who?). Will he and the rest of the cast want to continue their roles beyond Phase 4 of the MCU, or let the next generation take the lead?

Perhaps they can take inspiration from The Suicide Squad and the ever-growing MCU on Disney+ by launching their own spin-off series, focused on a smaller cast of characters. It’s certainly hard to imagine the entire extended “GotG” family disappearing altogether. It can only be that Gunn is done telling stories with them.