Peacemaker Season 2 Trailer Goes Full Multiverse, Confirms The Suicide Squad Still Canon

Thus far James Gunn has been reluctant to answer too many questions about the relationship between the DC Universe that he and DC Studios co-head Peter Safran rebooted and the previous universe which Zack Snyder started with Man of Steel in 2013. He recently told Den of Geek that “there are certain things from the old universe that we refer to in Peacemaker season 2, but until then, they’re not canon.”

With SDCC upon us, we finally get some solid references. In the latest trailer for Peacemaker‘s second season, set to “Road to Nowhere” by the recently-departed Ozzy Osbourne, we catch up with Christopher Smith, aka Peacemaker (John Cena), when he reunites with his friends in the 11th Street Kids: Leota Adebayo (Danielle Brooks), Emilia Harcourt (Jennifer Holland), John Economos (Steve Agee), and Adrian Chase aka Vigilante (Freddie Stroma).

Happy as they are to see one another again, the same can’t be said for another familiar face, that of new ARGUS director Rick Flag Sr. (Frank Grillo). Flag plans to use his new position to get vengeance against Chris following the death of his son Rick Flag Jr. (Joel Kinnaman), whom Chris murdered at the behest of Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) at the end of The Suicide Squad, Gunn’s first DC movie from 2021.

Thus we now have full confirmation that The Suicide Squad is still canon and its events matter in the new DCU. Of course that doesn’t answer every lingering question (not even as it relates to Peacemaker, which famously featured cameos from Ezra Miller’s Flash and Jason Momoa’s Aquaman in the final episode).

However, the trailer did point to something that might provide an explanation for those former DC heroes. Throughout the trailer, we see Chris enter a parallel universe via a special portal. Whereas in his home dimension, Chris remains a laughing stock, even after he and the 11th Street Kids stopped an alien invasion in the first season of Peacemaker, he is beloved in one of the alternate realities we glimpse him discovering. In fact, he’s not just loved by the public but also by his father Auggie (Robert Patrick), whose alternate must be very different from the abusive white supremacist whom Chris killed in season 1.

Throughout the trailer, we get hints that Chris will spend more time in this alternate universe, even stealing the sleek, cooler uniform (and less cool silk shirts) of his counterpart. And if the clips of two John Cenas battling one another is any indication, the alternate Chris has something to say about the prime Chris’ plan to steal his life.

On one hand, it’s a bit surprising to see the new DC Universe introducing the multiverse already in only its third official entry. Yet Gunn’s not backing away, telling panel attendees that Peacemaker season 2 will establish that there are at least 100 alternate realities in the DC Universe. This expands on comments Gunn made elsewhere, confirming that the portals that Chris uses to travel between realities are an extension of those that Lex Luthor used in Superman.

Speaking of Superman, the SDCC panel stated that Peacemaker‘s second season takes place one month after the end of that film. That short time span explains the cameos by Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced), Maxwell Lord (Sean Gunn), and Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion), who allow Chris to audition for membership in the Justice Gang. But Chris’ belief that he belongs with the Justice Gang comes directly from his emotional growth and heroics in season 1. “I don’t want to be a joke anymore,” Chris says in voice over in the trailer. “I want to be a real hero.”

Will Chris be able to make Peacemaker into a hero worthy of a world with Superman? If so it will probably happen in episodes one, six, and eight of Peacemaker‘s second season, which are the three that Gunn himself directs.

Getting some cool tech from the multiverse will certainly help Chris be the hero he wants to be, but he’ll have to atone for past sins first. And if the trailer’s depiction of Rick Flag Sr. is any indication, that’s going to be a tall task. Maybe it would be a lot easier for Chris if The Suicide Squad wasn’t canon.

Peacemaker season 2 premieres Aug. 12, 2025, on HBO Max.