Connected universes are certainly a hard concept to master. The only true measure of success from one that we’ve seen in our lifetime is the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), which has had its own ups and downs among its undeniable achievements. So much so, that Marvel’s comic counterpoint, DC, tried to replicate it, but ultimately failed. WhileZack Snyder’sMan of Steellaunched the DCEU (DC Extended Universe) with a fair amount of praise and excitement, its sprint to get toJustice Leaguejust a few years later left fans conflicted about the direction of this universe. Not to say every DCEU entry was a complete disaster, as it eventually led to renowned MCU writer/directorJames Gunnshifting his talents to the competition after being fired from Disney. Of course, that firing did not stick as Gunn returned to finish out theGuardians of the Galaxytrilogy, but this move resulted inmaking DC his permanent home, and this troubled connected universe his mess to fix.
After his appearance in Gunn’s DC debut project,The Suicide Squad, Peacemaker (John Cena) was easily the most hated character from the film, yet he was the one getting a spin-off series focused on him. The series surprised everyone, becoming an instant fan favorite, with the Season 1 finale ofPeacemakerfeaturing cameos fromJason Momoa’s Aquaman andEzra Miller’s Flash, along with two silhouettes seemingly representingHenry Cavill’s Superman andGal Gadot’s Wonder Woman, a.k.a. most of the members of the Justice League of the DCEU. But now that James Gunn andPeter Safranhave taken over DC Studios and dubbed their new universe theDCU,Season 2 ofPeacemakerwill follow the new canon, one with a new Justice League.
What From DC’s Past Is Canon in ‘Peacemaker’ Season 2?
Gunn’s DCU officially started on July 10, 2025, with the animated seriesCreature Commandos, which saw Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) create a new task force led by Rick Flag Sr. (Frank Grillo).This would be a direct continuation of events fromThe Suicide Squad,as not only are they referenced in the show, but the consequences of Peacemaker killing Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman) in that film will be a major plot point ofPeacemakerSeason 2, as Rick Flag Sr. hunts down Peacemaker. Now, how does a movie from the DCEU connect to projects involved in the newly formed DCU? The easy answer would be just to ignore it and move on, but with Season 1 ofPeacemakerconcluding with such a pivotal scene, including the DCEU’s Justice League, there has to be some form of explanation.
In an interview withTHRwhile promotingCreature Commandos, James Gunn saidPeacemaker’s canon “is pretty straightforward, with the exception of the appearance by a certain group at the end.” Gunn continued to explain, “If we mention [something from the past] in one of the new DCU shows [and movies], then it happened. That’s the way we’re dealing with it.”
Anything from the past is fair game to become canon moving forward, but likely only certain events fromThe Suicide SquadandPeacemakerwill remain canon, as we already havea new Superman withDavid Corenswet,and Momoa has been recast as Lobo, who will debut inSupergirl: Woman of Tomorrowin 2026. The new trailer forPeacemakerSeason 2 features Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced) and the Green Lantern, Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion), who will also appear in Gunn’sSuperman,due in theaters on July 11th, making the new DCU already feel far more cohesive than the DCEU ever did. This also confirms fully that anew Justice Leagueunder Gunn’s tutelage is coming sooner rather than later.
The ‘Peacemaker’ Season 2 Trailer Basically Confirms a Major DC Universe Theory
DC’s most famous team is likely going international.
‘Peacemaker’ Season 2 Will Deal With the Multiverse
The trailer forPeacemakerSeason 2also featuresPeacemaker interacting with a multiversal version of himself, meaning some of the DCEU to DCU confusion could be explained in this series. Since the brunt of the trailer features Peacemaker in the new DCU with the likes of Hawkgirl, Green Lantern and Rick Flag Sr., it’s safe to say that this new version of Peacemaker somehow finds a way back to the old DCEU to encounter a Peacemaker that seems to have had much more success after saving the world from the parasitic aliens in Season 1. The answer to how this multiverse travel was set up in the debut season ofPeacemaker, from Peacemaker’s dad, Auggie Smith a.k.a. the White Dragon (Robert Patrick).
Auggie’s pocket dimension, which was hidden within a closet in his home, was where he stored his suit and weapons, and was also where Peacemaker found several different versions of his helmet that his dad made for him. As hinted in this trailer,this pocket dimension also holds the capability to traverse into different universes, resulting in these two versions of Peacemaker facing off. Although Gunn’s comments about canon seem to just move on from the DCEU in a clean break, the fact that he gets to explore the multiverse in some capacity to explain why the universe has shifted fromPeacemakerSeason 1 to Season 2 is an important step to showcase the capable hands the new DCU is in with James Gunn and Peter Safran.
DC is no stranger to the multiverse, as theArrowversedipped its toes in it even before the MCU did. The most recent and notable DC multiverse adventure wasThe Flash, which saw Barry Allen (Ezra Miller) go back in time and change certain events, leading him to an alternate universe where Ben Affleck didn’t playBatman, butMichael Keatondid, as he tried to course correct everything. He ended in a universe with a version of Batman played byGeorge Clooney. Now, the events of this movie could easily explain the shift of universes forPeacemaker, but given the movie’s terrible performance at the box office and lackluster reviews, the smart play would be forGunn to explain the multiverse complexitiesin one of his own projects. Luckily, fans only have to wait a few months to see how this all plays out.
PeacemakerSeason 2 debuts on HBO Max on August 21 in the U.S.
Peacemaker
