Anyone who has seen James Gunn's The Suicide Squad will know that Peacemaker, the anti-Captain America of the DC Extended Universe played by John Cena, is pretty obsessed with phalluses. "If this whole beach was completely covered in dicks," he quips in the anti-hero ensemble flick, "and somebody said I had to eat every dick until the beach was clean for liberty, I would say, 'No problem-o!'" So is there any surprise, then, that the opening sequence of his new standalone show, which premiered on HBO Max yesterday, seems similarly wedded to thrusting, protruding pistols, and anything else that might be construed as... well, phallic?
One should imagine that the sequence is playfully self-referential. To the tune of "Do Ya Wanna Taste it" by Wig Wam - yeah, go figure - Cena's Peacemaker, joined by some of the show's wider ensemble cast (Danielle Brooks, Freddie Stroma, Jennifer Holland, et al.) in a ridiculous dance that can only be described as akin to a remarkably well-choreographed frat party. They dart around the stage, thrusting their pelvises and hips suggestively, Peacemaker flexing his biceps like an extra in Magic Mike; indeed, the whole presentation is that of a stripper show with a bro-y twist. But the cherry on the cake? Peacemaker producing his iconic pistol, with its elongated barrel, and... yeah, you get it. A whole lotta phalluses.
Gunn wrote all eight episodes of Peacemaker and directed five, including the first. Gunn, Peter Safran, and Matt Miller serve as executive producers on the series, with Cena as co-executive producer.
We interviewed Gunn ahead of the Peacemaker premiere, and he revealed to us that he was set to be involved with a new DC TV project in the future - although remaining clandestine as to what it would be. “You know, we're stepping forward. It keeps happening. We'll see what's happening, and I'll know what's happening very shortly. I dealt with it last night and this morning ... It's TV. There you go.” Maybe we can get a spin-off of the aforementioned Magic Mike, featuring a yassified King Shark as the lead?
Watch the intro below. The first three episodes of the DC spin-off series premiered yesterday on HBO Max, with the remaining episodes released on a rolling weekly basis.
The synopsis is given as follows:
"Peacemaker explores the continuing story of the character that John Cena reprises in the aftermath of Gunn’s 2021 film The Suicide Squad – a compellingly vainglorious man who believes in peace at any cost, no matter how many people he has to kill to get it."