John Cena's antihero meets another version of himself in the trailer for Season 2 of Peacemaker. Peacemaker (aka Christopher Smith) was first introduced in 2021's The Suicide Squad, before the eagle-bearing hero was granted his own spin-off series on Max in 2022. Peacemaker is in the interesting position of being one of the few projects that is carrying over from the old DCU to James Gunn and Peter Safran's new one.
The first trailer for Peacemaker Season 2 has teased more zany adventures for Cena's character, including one in which he faces off against another Peacemaker. The final scene in the teaser shows Cena's character in civilian clothes entering a strange door, where he is held at gunpoint by another fully suited-up Peacemaker.
The two Peacemakers can be differentiated by their slightly altered costumes, with the new one having the eagle emblem emblazoned in white and facing to the right, while the original Peacemaker's eagle points to the left and is yellow-colored.
It's unclear which of the two Peacemakers comes out victorious from this confrontation. However, earlier in the trailer, Peacemaker (in the new costume) can be seen running through Auggie Smith's Quantum Unfolding Storage Area alongside Leota (Danielle Brooks).
This could mean that the alternate Peacemaker was triumphant and has taken the original Peacemaker's place, or it could be that the original Peacemaker has taken on the doppelganger's new costume after beating his alternate.
The new season of Peacemaker could have some multiversal elements, which would explain the multiple variants of the same character. This could also be the series' way of addressing the shift between the old DCU and the new refreshed version, as it's one of the only projects to exist in both.
However, James Gunn (who directs Peacemaker and is the head of DC Studios) said on Threads that Season 2 of the series "essentially picks up where Season 1 left off" with only "a couple minor differences," thus suggesting that the change between DCU's won't make a significant impact. Gunn has gone on record saying that everything in Peacemaker is canon to the new DCU, except for the Justice League cameo in the Season 1 finale, which should make it easy for audiences who aren't aware of the behind-the-scenes DCU shuffles to continue with the series.
Peacemaker Season 2 also features the return of Jennifer Holland, Freddie Stroma, and Steve Agee, along with Frank Grillo appearing as Rick Flag Sr., and a new character played by Michael Rooker. The new season will debut on Max on August 21, after the release of Gunn's Superman film.
Why Are There Two Peacemakers?
The conundrum of there being two of Cena's Peacemakers has fan theories flying all over the place. A popular one is that the Multiverse will be used to explain away some of the transition issues between the old DCU and the new one and that Peacemaker Season 2 will infuse one Peacemaker with the identity of the old DCU and an alternate one with the new DCU (and then likely kill off the old one). That being said, Gunn has been vocal on Threads about not wanting "the universe shift to be that big a part of the story."
Nevertheless, it's possible that the Quantum Unfolding Storage Area may have secrets within that Peacemaker may not have been aware of. Perhaps there is a portal inside to different points in time, leading to this alternate Peacemaker being a past or future version of the character and allowing for the series to explore the notion of time travel.
Another idea is that this twin Peacemaker is some kind of clone forged to test or replace the current Peacemaker. Now that Sean Gunn's DCU character, Maxwell Lord, is confirmed for a role in Peacemaker, cloning could form a part of his ongoing plan. Auggie may have even planned some sort of failsafe, cloning his son for some sort of nefarious deed.
Another, more extravagant, theory is that the Peacemaker seen here is an impostor, possibly played by the shapeshifting villain Clayface (who is set to be introduced in a DCU film soon). Fans will have to tune into Peacemaker Season 2 to find out the truth.
