The Suicide Squad is not going to die when the movie is done.

Almost a year before the film is due in theaters, Warner Bros. and HBO Max have announced they’ve ordered a series based on one of its new characters, Peacemaker, who’s played in The Suicide Squad by John Cena. The show will run for eight episodes on HBO Max, and Cena will star. The Suicide Squad’s writer/director, James Gunn, will write the entire show and also direct “multiple” episodes, including the premiere, according to the press release.

Here’s what that press release had to say about the show itself:

While details about Peacemaker are being kept under wraps, the series will explore the origins of the character that Cena will play in the upcoming film, a man who believes in peace at any cost — no matter how many people he has to kill to get it. The series will extend the world that Gunn is creating for The Suicide Squad movie, which is scheduled to be released in theaters by Warner Bros. Pictures on August 6, 2021.

Peacemaker follows Warner Bros. giving another upcoming DC movie, The Batman, a spinoff show; director Matt Reeves is working on a series for HBO Max about Gotham City cops. So that looks to be Warners’ synergistic approach; big movies connected to interesting TV series to draw customers to HBO Max streaming. This plan could backfire; if the movies are bad, will anyone care about a TV series? But if the movies are good, then these high-profile series, with big-name stars and popular DC characters, could give HBO Max an edge in the streaming wars. Per the press release, Peacemaker will go into production in “early 2021, prior to Gunn beginning work on the next Guardians of the Galaxy film.”

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