Judomaster officially returned to Peacemaker in Season 2, Episode 3, which revealed that the thorn in Peacemaker's side is now working with ARGUS to take down John Cena's hero. This time, he's forced to be partners with Steve Agee's John Economos, something neither is particularly thrilled about.
Peacemaker star Nhut Le, who plays Judomaster in the show and wider DCU, sat down with The Direct's Russ Milheim to talk about his character's return to the series and where the villain is at. Le revealed that Judomaster has been "sort of a freelance mercenary" since audiences last saw him, noting that in Episode 3, "he gets enlisted with ARGUS, so he's going to join their team to bring down the Peacemaker."
On the eventual rematch between Judomaster and Peacemaker, which can be glimpsed in the trailer for Season 2, Le pointed out that while "Judomaster's a very skilled martial artist," Peacemaker is "just super strong." This leads to an interesting match that's "sort of more like a brawn versus brains scenario."
When it comes to Judomaster's motivation, the star explained that for his character, "every mission that he goes on is very important to the way that he views how the world could become a better place." After Project Butterfly failed in Season 1, Judomaster "does what he thinks is right, which for Season 2 would be joining with ARGUS."
Another element of Judomaster is his obsession with Cheetos. Le revealed that the proper department lineup is "eight or ten different types of Cheetos that [he] could choose from." He eventually chose "the most bland flavor," knowing that it was something he'd have to eat all day consistently.
The entire interview with Peacemaker star Nhut Le can be read below. Peacemaker, which is supposedly hiding some big DCU cameos in the coming weeks, is streaming on HBO Max.
Peacemaker Star Nhut Le Talks About Judomaster's Big Return With ARGUS
Judomaster Teams with ARGUS to Take Down Peacemaker.
- The Direct: "Where has Judomaster been since we last saw him. Like off camera, what has he been doing?"
Nhut Le: Since we've last seen him? He failed at saving Project Butterfly from the 11th Street kids. So, now I think he's sort of a freelance mercenary. And after episode three, you see that he gets enlisted with ARGUS, so he's going to join their team to bring down the Peacemaker.
- The Direct: "He does seem to have a little bit of a hatred for Peacemaker, which makes sense. I think that's a good segue into, we haven't seen this yet in the show, but it is in the trailer, you guys do get to throw fists. You get to have another little fight. Can you talk about filming that scene, and then just also tease the clash that you guys get to finally have a little rematch?"
Nhut Le: It's always fun when Judomaster goes up against Peacemaker, because he's, you know, Judomaster's a very skilled martial artists, and Peacemaker, I think, he's just super strong. His martial arts skills aren't as refined as Judomaster's, but he's so much bigger than Judomaster. So when the two of them go head-to-head, it's sort of more like a brawn versus brains scenario. But for that fight scene, we did a bit of rehearsing beforehand, and then we were shooting that in the height of summer in Atlanta. So it was, it was a little rough, but it looks great.
- The Direct: "Obviously, there have been a lot of changes to the DC Universe since we last were with these characters. There's been this big reset. But, with all of that, would you say that coming into this to Season 2, due to that reset, are there any notable differences or changes to Judomaster since we last saw him, or is he pretty much the same as everything we have seen up to this point?"
Nhut Le: I think they handled the reset in Episode 1... The majority of the things that happened in Season 1 are canon, and so I think just a few little segments here and there. So in terms of Judomaster, not much has changed in the flip from, you know, one to the other.
- The Direct: "Back when James Gunn was brought on board to do this new DCU, did you have any worries? Just personally, were you like, 'Oh no, what's going to happen to Judomaster?' What was that like behind the scenes for you, as we were all waiting to see how they were going to do this?"
Nhut Le: Yeah, behind the scenes, for me, it was a bit worrisome. Not in the sense that, you know, I know that James loves 'Peacemaker,' and he loves the storyline, and James and the fans seem to love Judomaster. So in that regard, I wasn't super concerned. But, there's always still that doubt.
Then, when he took over as the head of DC, there were other priorities that he had to tend to, Superman being the sort of tentpole in which everything fills out from. So that pushed our timeline back a little bit, but I'm glad it works the way that it did, because now the 'Peacemaker' storyline is sort of filling out. And it's not just events that happen in evergreen, it's events that happen in all of the DC Universe.
- The Direct: "We mentioned Judomaster went through this massive loss last season with Project Butterfly. And he even brings it up in this season. How would you say that huge loss kind of affected him on a personal level, and just who he is? How does he carry that weight with him throughout Season 2?"
Nhut Le: I think for him, being a hero or a villain, however you want to categorize him, every mission that he goes on is very important to the way that he views how the world could become a better place, you know? So when Project Butterfly failed, he said, 'Well, maybe that's not the way to save humanity anymore.' So, then he does what he thinks is right, which for Season 2 would be joining with ARGUS.
- The Direct: "Another interesting dynamic you have this season is, and it's in your first scene this season, with Steve Agee's John Economos, much to his chagrin. He's not a big fan of this little twist. What was it like getting to have more scenes with him this season? And can you tease kind of how that dynamic will evolve?"
Nhut Le: It's really fun. During the first season, we filmed during COVID in Vancouver, so none of the cast really got to hang out outside of set. And even when we were on set, you were in your own private tent with masks...
[For] Season 2, we were all filming in Atlanta, and we were staying maybe like five minutes apart from each other, so we got to hang out all the time. So when going through the script and seeing more scenes with Steve Agee's character Economos, it's very fun, because it's as if we're just hanging out on set, and I think some of the rapport definitely seeps through into the character, because we just make fun of each other all the time.
- The Direct: "With Season 2, obviously, they couldn't drop the Cheeto gag, which is still there in full force. How difficult is it not to get Cheeto dust all over your costumes? And how mad did you make the costumers?"
Nhut Le: So the nice thing about this season is the props department, who handles all the Cheetos, they brought me in a little bit earlier, and they lined up, I think, like, eight or 10 different types of Cheetos that I could choose from.
So, I went down the line for taste and color and all that kind of stuff, and I ended up choosing the one that was the most bland in flavor. Because, you know, if I'm gonna be eating this for the full day, I don't want it to be like, I'm so sick of each of these. You know, so, we picked one that felt good.
And then I think, for the Cheeto dust and the costume, he's someone who just wipes his hand on the costume. And costumes hasn't come to me yet about it. So, you know, I think it's a character choice, even if his costumes a little orange from the dust.
- The Direct: "Part of this show, particularly Season 2, are the alternate dimensions. And one of those dimensions, we see Peacemaker find basically a perfect reality for himself. So, hypothetically, if Judomaster had his own kind of, like, if we saw the perfect version of Judomaster in one of these alternate dimensions, what do you think that looks like? What is Judomaster's perfect life, perfect outcome?
Nhut Le: Hypothetically, I think Judomaster is such a loner in this world. I feel like if he were to choose one, maybe he would be like a nice family man. You know, he goes to, like, his nine-to-five and is happy going to barbecues and pool parties and stuff, because in this world, he's sort of a loner and doesn't really have friends. So I think it would be an interesting twist for him mentally, to have all the things that he doesn't have in this world.
The full interview can be viewed below:
