Why Superman Star David Corenswet Was Upset With James Gunn's Peacemaker Season 2

This post contains spoilers for "Peacemaker" season 2, episode 6, "Ignorance Is Chris."

"Peacemaker" season 2 is rolling right along and barreling towards its inevitable conclusion. When the reviews for the second season came out, the press had only been allowed to see the first five episodes. We now know why. Episode 6, "Ignorance Is Chris," came with a bombshell cameo, as Nicholas Hoult's Lex Luthor showed up to have a chat with Frank Grillo's Rick Flag Sr. Does that mean we're going to see David Corenswet's Superman as well? No, but the actor was bummed he didn't get to participate.

James Gunn, who directed "Superman," wrote all of "Peacemaker" season 2, and serves as the co-head of DC Studios at Warner Bros., recently spoke with Variety after the big episode premiered. He revealed that Corenswet was upset that Hoult got to appear in the show, while also explaining that his appearance is actually going to help tee up the ball for "Man of Tomorrow," a movie that will see Superman working with Lex Luthor. Here's what Gunn had to say about it:

"In fact, David was very upset that Nick got to be on the show, and he didn't. It just didn't work. I needed Lex in the show to serve a specific purpose. And actually, what Lex and Rick Flag are up to affects very much what happens in an aspect of 'Man of Tomorrow.' So, all of that is connected. But this relationship between Rick Flag and Lex Luthor is a potentially negative thing for Superman and all meta-humans."

Naturally, we need to see how the rest of the season shakes out, but Gunn is heavily implying that what's going on between Lex and Rick will have major consequences not just for this show but also the larger DC Universe moving forward. It's all connected, as it were.

As for Corenswet's lack of presence as Superman in "Peacemaker," Gunn totally ruled out a cameo from him but his reasoning is that he's only including characters that served the story at hand. He's not trying to force characters in where they don't make sense. That feels like a good philosophy to have as he and Peter Safran continue to build out the DCU.

The DC Universe timeline is slowly taking shape, but one of Gunn's big things has been that he wants each project to be able to stand alone. He doesn't want folks feeling like they need to watch everything, lest they be lost. A big part of that is knowing where this is all going. That's something that Gunn does, indeed, know. Speaking in the same interview, he revealed that he knows where Lex's story is headed, and it was even in his original pitch to Warner Bros. before taking over DC Studios:

"I knew what the overall story of the DCU was. That was something I pitched to [Warner Bros. Discovery CEO] David Zaslav before we even took the job. I'm like, 'Here's the story. There's going to be this movie, this show, this movie, this show, and those things all fit in in different ways.' Some things came, like 'Clayface,' that we didn't expect, and other things have been a harder road to travel. But the general outline of that overall story is what we are following through 'Superman,' 'Peacemaker,' 'Man of Tomorrow,' and beyond."

As Gunn mentioned, the "Clayface" movie is set to release next year, as is "Supergirl" (which was teed up in "Superman"). Beyond that, "Man of Tomorrow" is due to arrive in summer 2027, with a big villain likely at the center of it. So, even though Corenswet had to sit this one out, there will be plenty for him to do in the DCU in the coming years, that much seems certain.

"Peacemaker" season 2 is streaming now on HBO Max.