John Cena Says Peacemaker Series Dives Into Why His Character Is a Bad Person

John Cena discussed how his HBO Max Peacemaker series, which delves further into his The Suicide Squad character, will explore why Peacemaker is “such a douchebag.” Cena and James Gunn spoke with Empire for a new interview and the piece quotes Cena as not holding back about how Peacemaker is far from a hero.

“This guy is a loud, obnoxious, bro-ey douchebag,” says the actor. “That sucks. But why? At what point did he become such a douchebag and what does that mean? There’s a lot to dive into there.”

Gunn added that Peacemaker is “a piece of s**t” and noted that “He’s not a good guy. And he wears the goofiest costume you’ve ever seen in your life.” But he noted that there are elements to the character and Cena’s performance in The Suicide Squad that made him want to explore things further in a series.

“Peacemaker has a clear set of ideals that I find really interesting,” Gunn said. “You know: ‘I want peace no matter how many men, women and children I need to kill to get it.’ Sounds like nonsense, but it also makes a lot of sense. And you see in John’s performance how he does not feel good about it – something I thought was the seed of an entire eight-episode show.”

Gunn noted that the series will lean into the fact that it takes place in the DCEU, saying, “He lives in the world of Superman, Batman and Aquaman, and that is not an easy thing for him to contend with.” Gunn called the series’ story one that involves “big science-fiction” but also touches on real-world issues, saying, “He represents a part of the world populace that is problematic to say the least, and puts him in a situation where he has to face the choices he’s made throughout his life and the extremity of his views.”

Before we see the HBO Max series, which arrives in 2022, Cena plays the role in The Suicide Squad which arrives on August 6th in theaters and on HBO Max.