James Gunn Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images Share on Facebook Share on X Share to Flipboard Send an Email Show additional share options Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share on Tumblr Share on Whats App Print the Article Post a Comment Logo text [This story contains spoilers through Peacemaker season two's sixth episode, "Ignorance Is Chris."] When Peacemaker creator James Gunn conceived season two's seismic twist, the first person he consulted was his Leota Adebayo actor, Danielle Brooks. Throughout the second season, Christopher "Peacemaker" Smith (John Cena) has been enamored with an alternate dimension that he was able to access via his family's Quantum Unfolding Chamber (QUC). Earth-2 seemingly provided him with everything he's been lacking in his own dimension, including a caring version of his father (Robert Patrick's Auggie), an emotionally available Emilia Harcourt (Jennifer Holland) and a grown-up version of his brother, Keith (David Denman). The latter didn't suffer the same accidental childhood death that Earth-1's Keith did at the hands of his younger brother, Chris. Related Stories Person of Interest Danielle Brooks Is a Superhuman in Real Life and in 'Peacemaker' Movies 'Superman' Gets HBO Max Release Date By the end of season two's fifth episode, "Back to the Suture," Chris decided to permanently relocate to Earth-2 so that he could finally be the son, brother, romantic partner and well-regarded hero that's eluded him in his own world. However, he was so caught up in his own personal life that he couldn't see the forest for the trees. This dimension's Evergreen, Washington, which he put on a pedestal, turns out to be a round-the-clock "sundown town," a place that excludes people of color. The reason being is that Earth-2 consists of an alt-history in which the German Reich won World War II. The 11th Street Kids of Harcourt, John Economos (Steve Agee), Vigilante (Freddie Stroma) and Adebayo had already set out to rescue Chris from Earth-2, and Harcourt's instincts as an agent who minds her surroundings picked up on the white supremacist haven almost immediately. Thus, given how sensitive the idea could potentially be for Brooks as a Black actor, Gunn made sure she was his first call. "When I wrote episode 206, I sent it to Danielle, and I was like, 'This is where we're going with this. Tell me what you think.' And she was really into it," Gunn tells The Hollywood Reporter. "You've got to check yourself with things like this. It's good to be aware of what you're dealing with when it comes to audiences' emotions and feelings. So Danielle was my first stop in making sure that it was all kosher." Peacemaker season one may have redeemed Chris for killing Joel Kinnaman's Rick Flag Jr. in Gunn's The Suicide Squad (2021), but the surviving Squad characters of Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), Bloodsport (Idris Elba) and Ratcatcher 2 (Daniela Melchior) aren't privy to the story the audience has seen. In fact, they probably still believe Peacemaker is dead from one of Bloodsport's bullets. But Gunn doesn't have any interest in revisiting that conflict because he's already exploring it with Rick Flag Sr. (Frank Grillo). "Now, I'm not saying that those characters won't reappear. I'm just saying that I am [already] dealing with Peacemaker's guilt over killing Rick Flag Jr. and his repercussions for that," Gunn says. "That story is being told through his relationship with Rick Flag Sr. To tell it through Bloodsport, who was friends with Rick Flag Jr., would be an emotionally diminished story compared to the one I'm telling now. So it doesn't interest me at all." Gunn currently hosts Peacemaker: The Official Podcast, an episodic aftershow with Holland, Agee and various guests from the series. During a previous episode, Gunn mentioned in passing that he was watching Taylor Sheridan's 1923. That detail sparked a flurry of speculation that he was checking out popular Batman fan-cast, Brandon Sklenar, who was the breakout star on that particular Yellowstone prequel. Sklenar recently spoke to THR about his ardent desire to play the next Dark Knight. Unfortunately, Gunn says that his viewing of 1923 was unrelated to his search for the DCU's Batman. "I'm definitely not doing scouting for the Caped Crusader. But I'm always scouting when I'm watching TV shows," Gunn says. "In fact, I really like the young woman [Julia Schlaepfer] in 1923. She is just so fantastic that I suggested her for something recently. She's Brandon's [Sklenar] significant other in that series." Gunn is a preexisting admirer of Sheridan's sprawling TV universe, but that doesn't mean he's not a fan of Sklenar's. "I'm watching [1923] because I like Taylor Sheridan's stuff, especially that one. That's my favorite of all his shows," Gunn shares. "So I'm watching it mostly for fun, and I'm definitely not watching it because I need to find a Batman. By the way, I love [Sklenar]. I think he's great. I really do. I honestly think he's