At WrestleMania in Las Vegas this past weekend, John Cena defeated Cody Rhodes (with an assist from rapper Travis Scott) to win a record 17th WWE Championship.
The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker director James Gunn was among those who congratulated Cena after his big win. Today, the filmmaker has celebrated his friend and frequent collaborator's 48th birthday with a new photo from the Peacemaker season 2 set.
Those of you who have pointed out that the DC Studios co-CEO has appeared in a lot of Superman promotional material likely won't be surprised to see that Gunn is also front and centre. Coincidence or part of an overall marketing strategy? It's hard to say.
Either way, this is probably our best look yet at Peacemaker's costume and helmet in the DCU and, well, he really doesn't look all that different from when we last saw him cause chaos in the DCEU.
"In Creature Commandos, you'll hear them talk about things that happened in [The] Suicide Squad or Peacemaker," Gunn previously said of Peacemaker season 2's place in the new DCU canon. "Well then, those things automatically become canon."
ALSO READ: John Cena Confirms He's Had A Hair
Transplant: "Thank You For Bullying Me Into Getting [It]"
"The truth is almost all of Peacemaker is canon with the exception of Justice League," he added, referring to the season 1 finale's cameos from the Justice League's Aquaman and Flash. "Which we will kind of deal with in the next season of Peacemaker."
What the future holds in store for Christopher Smith beyond this series isn't clear (we don't even know for sure whether it will be billed as "season 2"). However, Cena will officially retire from WWE at the end of 2025, meaning he'll be able to commit fully to the DCU if needed.
Peacemaker follows the explosive escapades of the character that John Cena reprises in the aftermath of James Gunn's 2021 film The Suicide Squad - a compellingly vainglorious man who believes in peace at any cost, no matter how many people he has to kill to get it.
This second batch of episodes has assembled an impressive cast which includes John Cena, Danielle Brooks, Freddie Stroma, Jennifer Holland, Steve Agee, Frank Grillo, Sol Rodríguez, David Denman, and Tim Meadows. Joel Kinnaman is also rumoured to appear as Rick Flag Jr.
Peacemaker season 2 premieres on HBO on August 21.