John Cena's Peacemaker Photo With Superman Star David Corenswet Explained

The following article contains spoilers for season 2 of "Peacemaker." 

The internet loves to guess about the future of big franchise projects based on every rumor and behind-the-scenes photo, and that is especially true of the big superhero stories ... and when it comes to superheroes, there's nobody bigger than Superman. So, unsurprisingly, fans pretty much ran up the wall when David Corenswet, who played Clark Kent/the titular last son of Krypton in James Gunn's 2025 "Superman" film, shared a photo of himself in full Superman regalia on set with John Cena on season 2 of Cena's HBO Max series "Peacemaker."

It didn't help that Gunn had already taken to Instagram to call season 2 of "Peacemaker" the prequel to his "Superman" follow-up film, "Man of Tomorrow," which really got the rumor mill and fan theories going. Plus, since critics had only been given the first five episodes of "Peacemaker" season 2 to review ahead of time, that meant there were going to be some huge surprises and maybe even a Superman cameo in the remaining three episodes.

While we never got that cameo from ole Supes (although we did get a fun, expletive-filled appearance from his enemy Lex Luthor, played by Nicholas Hoult, while Peacemaker himself popped up on a TV in "Superman"), there's always a chance for Superman and Peacemaker (Cena) to cross paths in the future. After all, both are still alive and a part of Gunn's DC Universe, so they could absolutely share the screen at some point. As for the story behind that photo? It turns out Corenswet was merely paying Cena a friendly visit on the "Peacemaker" set while taking a break from filming on the "Superman" set.

In an interview with GQ, Cena set the record straight regarding the photo and tried to clear up any mystery around it: 

"I can tell you the story behind David and I, and that photo where I'm dressed as Peacemaker, is I knew that they were finishing up filming 'Superman' and I desperately wanted to meet David. I wanted to meet the new Superman and just lend my services, like, 'Hey, man, your life is about to change, and I've heard that you've been doing an incredible job. [...] As someone who has been far more exposed to the media than I have formal acting training, if I can help you in any way, please, here's my number, let me know."

Both "Superman" and "Peacemaker" season 2 both filmed at the same time at Trilith Studios in Atlanta, Georgia ,so that Gunn could make it all work, schedule-wise, which means it wouldn't have been too tough for Corenswet to sneak off one set and onto the other to meet Cena. While it's entirely possible that we could see the two cross paths on-screen in the future, Cena was clear that he knows absolutely nothing about that and wouldn't tell anyone even if he did, because he loves the power of a good storytelling surprise. If you want answers about the future of Peacemaker and Superman, he added, DC Studios co-CEO "James [Gunn] is a great guy to ask."

"Peacemaker' is currently streaming on HBO Max.