Peacemaker Season 2 Premieres August 21: Full Trailer Breakdown

HBO Max brought some much-needed glitter to San Diego Comic-Con over the weekend, unveiling the first full-length trailer for Season 2 of Peacemaker, the Emmy-nominated DC spinoff series from Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn. The trailer is the first extended look at what’s in store for John Cena’s Christopher Smith, and it’s a whole lot: bigger, weirder, and even a bit more emotional.

Peacemaker’s eight-episode first season takes place five months after the events of The Suicide Squad (2021), which saw Smith barely escape death by a bullet wound during the high-stakes Corto Maltese mission. Having been recruited by the U.S. government to be a part of a black ops mission dubbed “Project Butterfly,” Smith soon finds himself a part of a new team under Clemson Murn’s (Chukwudi Iwuji) command and with the support of A.R.G.U.S. agent John Economos (Steve Agee), NSA agent Emilia Harcourt (Jennifer Holland), and rookie recruit Leota Adebayo (Danielle Brooks).

Project Butterfly would prove to be anything but a straightforward, cookie-cutter, government job. Instead, the team was tasked with protecting the world from an alien race—parasitic butterflies—that have been secretly invading the planet by taking over human hosts. By the end of the season, the mismatched team of misfits can defeat the gruesome creatures in a blood-soaked battle on a ranch and escape with their lives—just not without major injuries and lasting psychological trauma.

Fast forward six months to the big reveal that is Season 2. Peacemaker returns to a DC Universe that’s much changed from the one fans left at the end of Season 1. While the Season 1 finale left Smith and the world intact within the framework of the now-defunct DCEU, Gunn’s second year for Peacemaker will open a crack into the freshly established DCU, the new continuity introduced by Gunn himself earlier this year as a part of his ambitious slate of “Gods and Monsters” films and series. The DCEU’s live-action events, minus a few cameo appearances by Justice League characters like Batman, Wonder Woman, and The Flash, are still confirmed to be canon by Gunn.

Peacemaker’s returning cast includes Cena, Brooks, Holland, Agee, Freddie Stroma as the fan-favorite psycho Villain known as the Vigilante, as well as Nhut Le as Judomaster and Eagly, Peacemaker’s faithful bald eagle sidekick. Robert Patrick also returns as Peacemaker’s dead father, Auggie Smith. Frank Grillo joins as Rick Flagg Sr.—the father of The Suicide Squad‘s now-deceased Rick Flagg, who was shot and killed by Peacemaker—and is currently leading A.R.G.U.S., as well as seeking revenge for his son’s murder. Also on the roster are Tim Meadows as agent Langston Fleury, Sol Rodriguez as Sasha Bordeaux, and Michael Rooker as Red St. Wild, described in the announcement as Eagly’s “nemesis.”

Official synopsis: “Season 2 of Peacemaker sees Chris Smith forced to contend with the emotional fallout of his violent and deadly past, while also beginning to confront his deep and simmering desire to become a better man. In many ways, he’s still the same guy: still trying to achieve peace through any means necessary. The difference this time around is that Peacemaker now wants to earn that peace, to become a hero through his good deeds instead of just obeying orders.”

The series got fans giddy in May when Gunn dropped an official teaser on social media, providing an early peek at the sheer absurdity and intensity of what fans can expect this year. Set to the chaotic music of Foxy Shazam’s “Oh Lord,” the footage kicked off with an unsuccessful attempt by Chris to join the Justice League—in an episode Gunn has officially confirmed to be a part of this second season. Green Lantern/Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion), Hawkgirl/Kendra Saunders (Isabela Merced), and Maxwell Lord (Sean Gunn) will all be reprising their roles, as previously seen in Gunn’s Superman. However, his pitch is, naturally, met with extreme skepticism. “I want you to have someone on your team who can take a bullet for you,” a bemused Chris tells the team. “Please?”

The teaser also provided a little update on the status of Peacemaker’s cast. If nothing else, Adebayo is “living in the worst level of Grand Theft Auto,” according to Economos. Harcourt is reportedly “dealing with a particularly severe form of toxic masculinity,” while Vigilante is serving his time in the food service industry.

The most notable tease from the trailer? The dimensional portal. In a trippy turn of events, Chris crosses into a multiversal fracture, stumbling headlong into a parallel universe where a version of himself already exists. And that other version of him is revered: A bona fide hero celebrated by the world at large. Tired of the ways he’s been received in his dimension—not to mention the dating game—Peacemaker seriously considers staying in this new world. But as can be expected from a man who has failed to find peace time and time again, his past won’t just let him go so easily. “No matter how green the grass is over there,” a despondent Harcourt intones at one point, “you belong here. With us.”

Gunn himself, who had a moment on stage during the Hall H panel at SDCC, has said Season 2 is all about evolution. “I like TV shows where the characters don’t just return every season and they’re the same characters,” Gunn said during the panel. “I want to see growth. I want to see change—and sometimes regression. Peacemaker is a different guy this year. He’s dealing with the demons he uncovered from the first season and trying to deal with them, and the world is not accepting him the way he is. They aren’t accepting him as a hero.”

Based on the trailer, Season 2 of Peacemaker is looking to blend its over-the-top action and humor with fresh, multiversal story and deeper character development and arcs. For better or worse, whether Peacemaker can finally come to terms with who he is—or who he wants to be—remains to be seen.

Peacemaker Season 2 premieres August 21, 2025, exclusively on HBO Max.