Editor's Note: The following contains spoilers for Black Adam.

Black Adam is in theaters right now, crushing the box office and allowing Dwayne Johnson to flex his big muscles and carry the DC Extended Universe on his back. However, while Black Adam is all about the antihero’s origin story and the future of the DCEU, the movie also builds on what has happened in the past.

That’s because Black Adam brings back Viola Davis’ Amanda Waller and Jennifer Holland’s Agent Emilia Harcourt, two members of Task Force X, also known as the Suicide Squad. And by making Waller one of the central players of Black Adam, Johnson’s DC movie might give us some clues about what happens after James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker. However, Black Adam might tie into The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker in two ways, depending on how it fits the DCEU timeline.

RELATED: ‘Black Adam’ Review: Dwayne Johnson’s Murderous Antihero Is a Welcome Addition to the DCEU

You Don’t Mess with Amanda Waller

Viola Davis as Amanda Waller in the DCEU
Image via DC

In The Suicide Squad, Waller sends Task Force X to the island of Corto Maltese to get rid of the mysterious Project Starfish. As it turns out, the project name referred to Starro, a starship alien who grew in a lab while scientists performed gruesome experiences. And it was all done with the U.S. government money, which explains why Waller was trying to sweep it under the rug. At the end of The Suicide Squad, Waller even decides to kill the entire Task Force X when they refuse to let Starro decimate the population of Corto Maltese. Then, on Peacemaker, Waller tried to frame the titular antihero (John Cena) to hide an alien conspiracy from the public after Peacemaker and his team saved the Earth from being overturned by body-snatching bugs wanting to protect the environment. Maybe we should have let the aliens win. We could say, then, that Waller is not a good person and that she has a handful of skeletons in her closet.

At the end of Peacemaker, Waller's daughter Adebayo (Danielle Brooks) releases documents to the public, proving Waller's involvement with international crimes and revealing the unethical Task Force X project. That’s a shocking twist, as Waller can only sacrifice inmates because she does everything in the shadows. So, we’ve been wondering if Peacemaker led to the end of Task Force X. Furthermore, Waller is about to get her solo series, which could likely deal with her fall from grace.

Nevertheless, Waller is making calls to the Justice Society in Black Adam and promising to provide a prison strong enough to hold Teth-Adam. So, it seems everything worked out for Waller, and she keeps being one of the most influential people in U.S. politics, despite her very public crimes. The heroes even send Teth-Adam to a Task Force X black site, teasing that Waller’s Suicide Squad might have become an official part of the United States prison system. Agent Harcourt seems to be running this underwater prison, meaning that she also got a promotion after the events of Peacemaker. In short, Adebayo’s efforts to stop her mother were all for nothing, as Waller came back unscathed.

But the Waller Connection Hinges Upon Black Adam's Timeline

black-adam copy
Image Via Warner Bros.

Of course, this interpretation of Black Adam’s connection to The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker only works if the movie takes place after both productions. That’s the most likely scenario, as every DCEU released so far either followed a chronological order or was an apparent prequel, such as Wonder Woman. However, since Black Adam only stated the movie happens after Justice League, there’s plenty of room for placing it before that Peacemaker finale.

If Black Adam happens before The Suicide Squad, that would mean Teth-Adam is acting as the Champion of Kahndaq for a while before Peacemaker even begins. In that scenario, Waller still has a good connection with superheroes because she acts as a jailor of super villains instead of a criminal who blows up other people’s heads. And since Harcourt has not yet disobeyed Waller, it would make sense for her to have a prestigious job at black site prison. Besides Waller’s solo series, there’s a second season for Peacemaker on the DCEU pipeline. So, if we are lucky, it shouldn’t take long for us to understand how exactly Black Adam connects to The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker.

Black Adam is now playing in theaters. Check out the movie’s trailer below: