DC Studios Just Canonized 1 Pivotal Moment from the Old DCEU

One important moment from the former DCEU is now officially canon for DC Studios' new DC Universe. Following James Gunn and Peter Safran's promotions to DC Studios co-CEOs, some confusion arose about which DC story was officially canon between Zack Snyder's work in the DCEU and Gunn's more recent projects. As the DCU pushes further into a new slate of projects, more of those questions are getting definitive answers.

DC Studios released the second episode of Peacemaker on August 28. While this new season sets up exciting prospects for DC Studios' future stories, significant ties to Zack Snyder's work in the DC Extended Universe still linger. Peacemaker's status in the old universe highlights a few of those ties, although new episodes set the record straight on important plot points.

About four minutes and 30 seconds into Peacemaker Season 2, Episode 2, fans see a flashback moment showing a scene from 2021's The Suicide Squad. This comes as Frank Grillo's Rick Flag Sr. analyzes a file he asked to see immediately upon taking over the position of ARGUS' director.

The file in question details the events of 2021's The Suicide Squad, officially making that film canon within the new DC Universe. Specifically, fans see an image of Joel Kinnaman's Colonel Rick Flag. Jr., who played an important role in both Suicide Squad movies.

Cutting away from Peacemaker, the show jumps back to The Suicide Squad, in which Rick Flag Jr. and John Cena's Peacemaker argue over the flash drive with information on Project Starfish. As Peacemaker yells that the information getting out would cause "an international incident," Flag remained steadfast in his desire to tell the world the truth.

This leads to an intense physical confrontation between Rick Flag and Christopher Smith, ending with Smith stabbing Flag through the heart with a piece of tile. As Flag exclaimed, "Peacemaker...what a joke...," he succumbed to the stab wound and died at Smith's hand.

While Peacemaker only showed less than a minute of the scene in question, it set in stone that the moment (along with the entire story in The Suicide Squad) is canon with the new DC Universe.

Peacemaker Season 2 is the second new show in the DC Universe after James Gunn's promotion to DC Studios co-CEO. Starring John Cena, Jennifer Holland, Steve Agee, Danielle Brooks, and Frank Grillo, this season follows up on Christopher Smith in his attempts to become a true hero while introducing alternate dimensions and a revenge plot for Rick Flag Sr. New episodes of Peacemaker Season 2 debut on HBO Max on Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. ET.

How The Suicide Squad Will Add to DC Studios' Canon Story

While The Suicide Squad was originally part of the old DCEU and was released three years before James Gunn's story started, it still has plenty of lingering ties to what is currently being shown. This movie did not boast many definitive connections to anything established in Zack Snyder's old story, making it easier to serve as an unofficial lead-off point for Gunn's new story.

This started with 2024's Creature Commandos, which included multiple characters from The Suicide Squad working as a new unit under Rick Flag Sr. The lineup even gained other The Suicide Squad characters in the last episode, as King Shark returned to the small screen and Weasel came back into the mix as well.

Moving forward, Gunn already teased some epic cameos for the later episodes in Peacemaker Season 2, which could expand on the greater DCU's story.

Combine that with everything fans have already seen in Superman and Creature Commandos over the last year, and the stage is set for a thrilling story to unfold for a DC Universe that hopes to rival any cinematic universe in the game.