Peacemaker Season 2's finale introduced the DCU's Checkmate as a heroic organisation that's a far cry from the version often used by Amanda Waller and Maxwell Lord in the comics for their own nefarious means.
Still, with Rick Flag Sr. going off the deep end, it makes sense to give this world someone who can counter A.R.G.U.S. and its plans for a Multiversal metahuman prison, Salvation (which currently has only one prisoner: Chris Smith).
Many fans were surprised by Waller's absence in Peacemaker, especially as Viola Davis is still supposed to be taking centre stage in her own TV series. Asked for an update on Waller by The Screen Brief, Gunn admitted that it's been a "rough road."
"There’s a lot to say. It’s like, so, yeah, you know, sometimes things just happen and it’s like butter and it’s so easy and you’re getting great scripts and it’s just, you know, straight of the bat, and other times it’s just a rockier road," he added. "And as I said from the beginning, we’ll never greenlight something where the scripts aren’t working, and we just haven’t had that yet with the Waller show."
After Peacemaker Season 2 didn't quite live up to expectations, many fans are eager for Gunn to take a back seat in 2026 and concentrate on Man of Tomorrow (as a creative, he's been stretched pretty thin between this series, Creature Commandos, and Superman).
Asked about focusing on being a CEO next year instead of a filmmaker, Gunn said, "It’s challenging because my experience is being writer and director. I’ve produced some things, but it doesn’t feel like it comes as naturally to me. So that is just about trying to be the best producer I can. I’m focused on supporting those creators the best I can to help them tell good stories."
"I’m beholden to the story in those things as much as I am to the stories in my own stuff. So, my central concern is the same whether it’s a movie I’m directing or someone else is directing," he continued, and revealed which part of the DCU he's focusing on "There is one big story. On the one hand, everything is going to be ok to watch by itself, but there is still a bigger story that is being told that involves, for example Salvation."
"And that story involves Rick Flag, it involves Lex and Superman, so those movies I’m going to be directing," Gunn explained. "That’s the plan right now, at least. I may get so tired that I can’t do it because I’m pretty tired, so we’ll see. But there’s a plan that I’m going to do. It’s a couple more at least."
However, before you go tracking down a copy of Salvation Run to try and figure out what the filmmaker is up to, he confirmed that the core of the comic book version of that story isn't something he intends to adapt for the DCU.
"We’re taking elements like Salvation, but we’re not adapting that total story. For example, there’s a very distinct storyline in the comics that involves The Joker vs Lex Luthor, but we’re not doing that," Gunn said, adding that the idea of sending metahumans to Salvation was a bigger draw to him, as is the exploration of the ramifications of doing so.
"In this case," he noted, "the sole person there right now is a good guy who has to survive on this own [Peacemaker]." When and where Gunn will explore that plot point remains to be seen, but it likely won't be in Man of Tomorrow, judging by other recent comments.