DC Studios and James Gunn are bringing Peacemaker season 2 to this weekend's San Diego Comic-Con, and another big DCU update has been revealed ahead of that show's Hall H panel.
Deadline has revealed that Booster Gold, a planned HBO Max streaming series, has tapped Our Flag Means Death creator David Jenkins to write the pilot. If Gunn and Peter Safran are happy with his take on the time-travelling superhero, he'll eventually serve as showrunner.
Booster Gold was announced at the start of 2023 as part of the DCU's "Chapter 1: Gods and Monsters" slate. It's previously been revealed that the show lost its original showrunner, while rumours have swirled that Eternals star Kumail Nanjiani is being lined up to play the title character.
Last December, Gunn largely dodged a question about Nanjiani playing Booster Gold when he said, "We're not quite there yet in terms of Booster Gold. The scripts aren't quite where I want them to be."
He'd add, "The goal from the beginning was to give the honor that the great characters deserved; the Wonder Womans, Batmans, and Supermans. But then also to prop up these lesser-known characters like Peacemaker, Booster Gold, and The Huntress."
Booster Gold was created by writer Dan Jurgens and first appeared in Booster Gold #1 in 1986. His real name is Michael Jon Carter, a former football star from the 25th century who becomes a time-travelling hero.
Carter, disillusioned by his lack of success and fame in his own time, steals advanced technology, including a powered suit and a robotic sidekick named Skeets, and travels back to the 20th Century to become a superhero. Initially motivated by fame and fortune, Booster eventually matures into a genuine hero, using his abilities to protect the innocent and uphold justice.
When Booster Gold was first announced, it was described as following its title character, who uses basic technology from the future to pretend to be a superhero in the present day.
There's a lot of potential for a character like Booster Gold in the DCU, though Gunn has recently said he isn't the biggest fan of time travel. However, by rooting Carter in the present day and perhaps pairing him up with Blue Beetle, we could be in store for an irreverent take on this shared world from the perspective of this wannabe hero.
He's also a member of the Justice League International on the page, a superhero team that Gunn does appear to be building to, if Superman's "Justice Gang" is any indication.
Stay tuned for updates as we have them.
UPDATE: Jenkins has now confirmed he's working on Booster Gold, revealing that he inherited the project from The Righteous Gemstones' Danny McBride, the showrunner Gunn suggested "fell out of love" with the project.