Following the release of Peacemaker's sixth episode and the revelation that Nazis rule the show's parallel Earth, James Gunn has been doing the rounds to discuss "Ignorance Is Chris."
Across multiple interviews, the filmmaker and DC Studios co-CEO has confirmed that it is indeed Earth-X. However, it won't be referred to as that in the show itself: "People don't name their planets other than Earth, so to them it's Earth, just like to us and the DCU it's Earth," Gunn pointed out to EW. "I don't think people think of their planets as having numbers, but yeah, I call it Earth-X."
He's also promised that many of our unanswered questions will be addressed next week. "People are also going to find out [in episode 7], that Earth X is not simplistic," he told Variety. "If we were raised in Nazi world and accepted that as being OK, how would you think? We get a little bit more of that with specific characters next episode."
Much has been said about Peacemaker season 2 leading directly into Superman sequel Man of Tomorrow, but Earth-X will not be the connective tissue between these DCU projects. "It’s not a major part of the storytelling," Gunn told the trade. "That’s about Peacemaker."
In a separate conversation with The Wrap, Gunn talked about shooting scenes for Peacemaker while he was working on Superman, and revealed that Lex Luthor and Rick Flag Sr.'s newfound partnership is what's key to his next chapter in the "Superman Saga."
"I shot three scenes while we were shooting 'Superman.' There was the scene with the Justice Gang; I shot that on a Saturday. The scene with Lex, I shot that on half a day on Saturday," he explained. "And then there’s a scene in Episode 8 that I shot for half a day on Saturday so that we could utilize various actors at the same time."
"It has important ramifications — his relationship with Rick Flag is something that’s important to 'Man of Tomorrow.' And it was fun seeing Nick in sort of a different light, 'Peacemaker’s' more naturalistic than 'Superman.'"
"Him coming into that dialogue, the character shifted, not only because of what he’s been through — which is being beaten up by a super dog and sent to prison for the rest your life — but also because of this subtle tonal differences in the show compared to the movie," Gunn added.
So, we won't be following the Justice Gang to Earth-X for an all-out war with a Nazi Superman and his allies. Most comic book fans are already pretty tired of the Multiverse, so that's not necessarily a bad thing, and it's now looking increasingly likely that Rick is responsible for freeing Lex and giving him the resources to protect the world as a "hero" alongside the Man of Steel.
With Brainiac expected to take centre stage in Man of Tomorrow, we're sure many of you will be relieved that the Superman follow-up won't be a tale about Multiversal Nazis, anyway!
As for Peacemaker, Smith and the rest of the 11th Street Kids need to find their way home. Based on Gunn's comments above, it's doubtful that they'll "save" Earth-X from itself, but some big surprises are on the way. "I'm really so proud of [episode] eight," he shared with IGN. "I can't wait for people to see it. It's really. Boy. For the comics nerds too, man. Shit. Great..."