Aside from the demise of Chris Smith's villainous father Auggie, Clemson Murn, and a few key supporting players, the first season of Peacemaker concluded with every major character still kicking (if a little the worse for wear), but this may not have been the case if James Gunn had stuck to his original plan.
On the latest episode of the Peacemaker Podcast, Gunn was asked by Emilia Harcourt actress Jennifer Holland if there were any versions of the script where the main characters died.
"Harcourt got taken over by Goff. There was more of a pronounced line of Goff being in love with Peacemaker, and Peacemaker is in love with Harcourt. He keeps her alive and stays with Harcourt even though she’s been taken over by Goff."
By "taken over by Goff," we assume Gunn means that Harcourt's consciousness was replaced by the Butterfly that was controlling Senator Royland Goff. This would have essentially resulted in Harcourt's death, since there is no way to restore the original psyche once an alien parasite takes over.
"When I say I changed it, these were all just like outlines where I was trying to figure stuff out," added Gunn. "It wasn’t a fully written script. But in that version, season 2 would have been Goff as Harcourt."
You can check out the latest red-band trailer below.
Peacemaker returns for its second season this week, and the reviews have been highly positive (97% on Rotten Tomatoes).
"People are realizing that Peacemaker Season Two is about two dimensions, and that’s really the core of the show," Gunn explained to Rolling Stone in a recent interview. "But it’s not as if one of these is old DCEU and one’s DCU. That’s dealt with in a different way, very upfront in a season where most everything in Season One is canon and some things are not. And in fact, I did a podcast with [actors] Steve Agee and Jen Holland. And we did every episode of Peacemaker, and in those episodes, I talk about what’s canon and what’s not. I basically chip off little things from Peacemaker Season One that aren’t canon, like Aquaman. But most of the stuff is canon."
"The new season follows Christopher 'Chris' Smith, aka Peacemaker, the vigilante Super Hero as he struggles to reconcile his past with his newfound sense of purpose while continuing to kick righteous evil-doer butt in his misguided quest for peace at any cost.
In season 2, Peacemaker discovers an alternate world where life is everything he wishes it could be. But this discovery also forces him to face his traumatic past and take the future into his own hands.”