Superman director James Gunn has returned to television with a bang via the highly anticipated Peacemaker season 2 on HBO Max. The now 58-year-old DC Studios co-CEO oversees the hit series starring John Cena as the titular anti-hero and co-hosts the companion podcast as well. And following the premiere of the show’s second season, Gunn opened up about the series’ continuity challenges.
The Guardians of the Galaxy director touched upon the changes that needed to be made to realign Peacemaker season 2 with the new DC Universe in an interview. The show’s first season was firmly set in the now-defunct DCEU (Snyderverse), but Season 2 needed to transition into Gunn’s new DCU, following the release of Superman, and the show’s opening episode reflected that.
“We’re not going to go back and re-shoot all of it for season one at least not at this point. At some point, I would love to Lucas the s**t out of it,” Gunn said.
James Gunn talks about the retconning in Peacemaker season 2
Acclaimed director James Gunn is back with Peacemaker season 2, and he addressed how the second season of Peacemaker handles continuity issues after the launch of his new DC Universe. While season 2 of the John Cena-starring series is placed within the canon of the new DC Universe, season 1 isn’t, and Gunn explained his decision not to re-shoot the show from the beginning.
In the interview with TV Insider, he revealed that the reason for not re-shooting season 1 was that it would be expensive.
“I would have to change too many little things throughout season 1 and it would cost too much money, and I’d rather just give that money to a few more CGI shots of Supergirl,’ Gunn said.
The Peacemaker season 2 premiere addresses this continuity shift by featuring a “Previously On” recap that replaces the original Justice League cameo with the new DCU Justice Gang. Furthermore, the silhouettes of the old Superman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman and Flash were replaced by David Corenswet’s Superman, Milly Alcock’s Supergirl, Edi Gathegi’s Mister Terrific, Isabela Merced’s Hawkgirl, and Nathan Fillion’s Green Lantern.
Gunn clarified his approach to canon in the new DCU and confirmed that Creature Commandos, Superman, and Peacemaker season 2 are firmly canon.
“I think that we deal with it. We say canon is really Creature Commandos, Superman and Peacemaker season 2. I love for people to watch season one but obviously we’re changing that one thing,” he explained.
However, the showrunner did joke and admit that he would love to eventually revisit the first season at some point and retweak scenes to fit his current DC Universe, the way George Lucas has done for Star Wars.
“We’re not going to go back and re-shoot all of it for season one at least not at this point. At some point, I would love to Lucas the s**t out of it,” Gunn added.
James Gunn talks about exploring alternative universes in Peacemaker season 2
Gunn also opened up about the introduction of multiverse elements in Peacemaker season 2 during the interview with TV Insider. The Guardians of the Galaxy director explained that he uses it as a literary device to bridge different versions of the DC Universe and provide insights as well.
“I think that for me it isn’t so much about a multiverse story. It’s more about an alternate world story and it goes back to as a literary device like in Philip Ross Counterlife or in the book Replay where we’re confronted with a character who is in this case it’s a much more contemplative situation than you would see in a multiverse story like Deadpool and Wolverine,” Gunn explained.
With the transition from the DCEU to Gunn’s new DCU, the multiverse approach offers a way to acknowledge both continuities. But despite that, Gunn asserted that it’s not about having a thousand Chris Smiths like they did in Deadpool and Wolverine, but about Peacemaker confronting the life he never had.
“This is not about the craziness, this is about Christopher Smith confronting the loss of thing he never had. The brother, an adult that he could grow old with, and a father who loves him. And being a hero and seeing what life would be like if maybe it was a little bit different but different completely,” Gunn said.
Interested viewers can watch Peacemaker on HBO Max.
