'Peacemaker': John Cena's HBO Max Spin-Off Adds 'The Suicide Squad' Vet Steve Agee
HBO Max's The Suicide Squad spin-off, Peacemaker, is adding a few familiar faces to its line-up. The John Cena-led spin-off series has added Steve Agee to the Peacemaker cast, with the actor reprising his Suicide Squad role of John Economos, the warden of Belle Reve Federal Penitentiary.
Deadline broke the news that The Suicide Squad vet Agee is joining the Peacemaker cast, reprising one of his two roles from James Gunn's upcoming comic book film, John Economos (the longtime collaborator with Gunn also stars in the less recognizable role as King Shark). It's no surprise that Gunn is bringing over one of his most frequent collaborators — with Agee having starred in Super, Guardians in the Galaxy Vol. 2, and Brightburn — even if it's in a relatively minor role. John Economis is very much a supporting character, even in the comics. But perhaps the role will become larger in Peacemaker, as John Economos is introduced as an aide to Viola Davis' Amanda Waller, and may step into the larger role as Peacemaker's government liaison.
Gunn commented on Agee's casting on Twitter, writing, "And we can't wait to put John Economos on the small screen. So much more cool casting news to come!"
An eight-episode series written by Gunn, who is set to direct multiple episodes, Peacemaker will "explore the origins of the Peacemaker character, the master of weapons from the highly anticipated upcoming The Suicide Squad film." A few more characters from Gunn's The Suicide Squad will likely also show their faces in the series, as the filmmaker teased.
The series is described as an action-adventure-comedy, and John Cena, who plays Peacemaker in the movie, will reprise his role from The Suicide Squad (though as an origin story, don't think this guarantees his survival in the upcoming film). Gunn's series will show how Peacemaker became "a man who believes in peace at any cost — no matter how many people he has to kill to get it."
Gunn and The Suicide Squad producer Peter Safran will serve as executive producers of the series, with Cena as co-executive producer. The show will be produced by Gunn's Troll Court Entertainment and The Safran Company in association with Warner Bros. Television, and is scheduled to begin production in early 2021, before Gunn starts work on the next Guardians of the Galaxy film. Peacemaker is the latest HBO Max spin-off from upcoming DC movies, with an untitled Gotham PD series that's a spin-off of the upcoming The Batman. The Suicide Squad currently is scheduled to open in theaters August 6, 2021.