Spoilers ahead for the Peacemaker Season 2 premiere!
The DC Universe is changing, and the first major piece of that puzzle is the return of Christopher Smith in Peacemaker Season 2. DC Studios co-president James Gunn has been upfront about the new canon, stating that while some elements from his past projects—like The Suicide Squad and the first season of Peacemaker—will remain, the DCU proper begins with Creature Commandos and Superman.
This created a major question: how would the show handle the bombshell Justice League cameo from the Season 1 finale, which featured the DCEU’s versions of the heroes? The answer, as revealed in the Season 2 premiere, is surprisingly simple and completely in character for Gunn.
The Quick and Dirty Retcon
The Season 2 premiere opens with a recap titled “Previously in the DCU,” which flashes through key moments from the first season. But if you were paying close attention, you’d notice a few crucial changes. The DCEU Justice League is gone, replaced by the Justice Gang, the hero team from Gunn’s recent Superman movie.
In the original Season 1 finale, Leota Adebayo called for the Justice League’s help. In the redubbed recap, her line now says “the Justice Gang.” The visual cameo has also been completely reshot. Instead of the familiar silhouettes of the DCEU’s Flash, Superman, Wonder Woman, and Aquaman, we now see the Justice Gang: Guy Gardner’s Green Lantern (Nathan Fillion), Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced), and the silhouettes of Mister Terrific, Superman, and Supergirl.
End of Peacemaker Season 1:
Peacemaker Season 2:
The hilarious and famously crude banter has been rewritten as well. Peacemaker’s original “You’re late, you f***in’ dickheads!” remains, but the joke about Aquaman and Flash is replaced by a new exchange between Guy Gardner and Hawkgirl. When she calls Peacemaker a “meathead,” Guy replies, “Screw that guy. You know he tells people I’m a puke freak?”—a clear nod to Peacemaker’s old joke about Green Lantern.
The “Normies” Don’t Care
According to Gunn, the simple solution was always the best one. There was never a plan for a convoluted sci-fi explanation involving the multiverse. As he puts it, “normies don’t give a s**t” about intricate canon details. He believed the most direct approach was just to say, “yeah, this world is a little different.”
This isn’t the first time Gunn has urged fans to stop stressing over canon. He has consistently reminded audiences that these are just stories about characters, not a rigid, unchangeable historical record.
For fans who want to watch the original cameo, the good news is the Season 1 finale on HBO Max will remain untouched. The new version of the scene is only featured in the Season 2 recap. Gunn joked that he would have “Lucas’d the s**t out of” it if he could, but the cost was too high, and he’d rather spend the money on VFX shots for Supergirl.
Gunn is still proud of the original Justice League cameo, calling it a “fun and crazy” moment. But now, the Justice Gang is here to stay. And for Peacemaker, this new team means more than just a passing cameo. The trailer for Season 2 shows Peacemaker enduring a humiliating job interview in hopes of joining their ranks. Whether they’ll make more appearances this season is yet to be seen, but Gunn has teased a major DCU cameo coming in the later episodes.
What did you think of how Gunn handled the Justice League retcon? Let us know in the comments below.
