James Gunn has unveiled the truth behind the 11th Street Kids reference and photo in the latest episode of HBO Max's Peacemaker, 'Monkey Dory.' At the end of the episode, Emilia Harcourt (Jennifer Holland) takes a photo of the team, and Gunn has taken to Twitter to reveal that this was a very real, unscripted moment. There also is an actual group chat that Gunn and the cast have called the 11th Street Kids, a nod that further shows the camaraderie amongst them.
The photo comes at the end of the fifth episode after the crew have completed their mission at the bottling factory. The frame captures the smiles and joy of Peacemaker (John Cena), Leota Adebayo (Danielle Brooks), John Economos (Steve Agee), and Vigilante (Freddie Stroma). The team is jamming out to Hanoi Rocks's '11th Street Kids,' with Holland capturing the joy not just of the characters in the moment but also of the cast. Gunn also revealed that there is an actual 11th Street Kids group chat amongst he and the cast, where he and Cena often implement the mermaid emoji to end their texts.
It's a pretty cool note to know that this moment was not planned, as Gunn noted in a later tweet:
"So @jennlholland (Jennifer Holland) really took the #11thStreetKids photo and that's really her finger in the lower left of the frame (no it wasn't planned!) #PeacemakerParty #Peacemaker"
Gunn appears to be a natural at bringing together casts and crews, and Peacemaker would just be the latest piece of evidence to that. This moment in the episode provides such a sense of natural levity that the fact that it was unscripted makes complete sense. It shows not just the joy of the characters in completing their mission, but also at the cast having such fun together. Peacemaker is one of the biggest shows in the world right now, and with moments like this it's pretty easy to see why.
Peacemaker also stars Chukwudi Iwuji, Robert Patrick, Annie Chang, Lochlyn Munro, Elizabeth Ludlow, and Rizwan Manji. The episode where this photo appears was directed by Rosemary Rodriguez (The Good Wife, Jessica Jones). Gunn wrote all eight episodes, and directed five of them. He directs two of the episodes that still have yet to release.
Peacemaker still has three episodes in its first season, with new episodes landing on HBO Max on Thursdays. Check out Gunn's tweet about this iconic photo below: