Thanks to a new update on the HBO Max app, fans are getting spoiled on one of DC Studios' most surprising crossovers to date. James Gunn's new vision for the DCU is in full swing, launching a never-before-seen interconnected on-screen universe for the iconic brand. Thus far, only three projects have made their way out (Creature Commandos, Peacemaker, and Superman), yet the connective tissue has already started to show its face.
One of the best examples of this came during Peacemaker Season 2's run on HBO Max, in which Superman villain Lex Luthor (played by Nicholas Hoult) made a surprise appearance from prison to strike a deal with Frank Grillo's Rick Flag Sr. In a series full of wider DCU connections, this Lex Easter egg stood out as the series' most surprising by far, being a little hidden nugget for fans who had just come off seeing Superman for the first time.
Now, mere weeks after Peacemaker Season 2 came to an end, HBO Max is outright spoiling the show's Lex Luthor cameo for audiences. As spotted by a fan on Reddit, the service's new banner image for Peacemaker now features a picture of Hoult's DC villain, as opposed to John Cena's titular hero.
This gives away one of Peacemaker's most exciting moments and easily the biggest DC Studios connection between a movie and TV show yet, making the change a rather confounding one.
Peacemaker Season 2 is now streaming in its entirety on HBO Max. The R-rated DCU series from DC Studios head James Gunn follows Cena's chrome-domed hero as he discovers a 'too good to be true' alternate dimension where he can escape all of his problems.
Hoult's Lex Luthor was just the tip of the DCU Easter egg iceberg. Other big-name cameos included the return of Joel Kinnaman as The Suicide Squad's Rick Flag Jr., as well as a particularly hilarious sequence featuring Superman's Justice Society.
Why Did HBO Max Spoil Peacemaker Season 2's Biggest Cameo?
For fans of the series, seeing Peacemaker Season 2's new spoilery HBO Max image will likely come as a disappointment. Why would the streamer give away one of the biggest moments in the DCU's early history so soon after Peacemaker's release?
This move, while confounding to some, is likely a strategic one on HBO Max's part. Peacemaker Season 2 is entering a different part of its life, now that it has finished its eight-episode run.
The die-hard DCU fans have come and gone from the series, and now it is up to HBO Max to try to win over other audiences in any way it can. One way to do that would be teasing just how deep the DCU connection runs in the series, thus how we arrive at Lex Luthor being its new banner image.
For a general HBO Max subscriber who has just finished watching Superman for the first time, seeing the villain from that movie promoting another series lends it a level of legitimacy and could potentially encourage them to hit play.
This is a strategy that comic book movie studios have been using for years, with some of their most spoilery moments being used to market the film weeks after its release, hoping to lure in those who might not have considered checking out that particular title (just look at what Marvel Studios tried to do with Thunderbolts' post-release marketing campaign).
