Peacemaker season 2: everything we know so far about the HBO Max show's return (release date, trailer, cast, and plot)

Get your dancing shoes on, because Peacemaker season 2 is just over a month away from being released. The John Cena-starring comic book TV series will launch worldwide on August 21, so you've still got time to learn more about the hit HBO Max show's return.

Indeed, this ultimate guide to all things Peacemaker will walk you through its sophomore season. You'll find more information on its first trailer, confirmed cast, story specifics, and potential impact on James Gunn and Peter Safran's rebooted DC Universe (DCU).

Full spoilers follow for Peacemaker season 1. Possible spoilers are also discussed for its follow-up.

Peacemaker season 2 release date

Peacemaker season 2's release date was confirmed in April and it'll launch on HBO Max in nations where the streaming service is available on Thursday, August 21. It should air on Sky and Now TV in the UK, too.

This release date is in line with what Casey Bloys, HBO's TV chief, told journalists last November 2024, when he teased that the release window for Peacemaker season 2 would likely launch in August 2025.

Peacemaker season 2 trailer

Peacemaker season 2's first trailer was released publicly in May and there's quite a bit it revealed about this season's plot. Namely, that the titular metahuman will be hunted down by Rick Flag Sr – remember, Peacemaker killed Rick Flag Jr in 2021's The Suicide Squad movie – and, by way of a larger and/or multiversal Quantum Unfolding Chamber, cross over in the DCU from the now-defunct DC Extended Universe (DCEU).

The official trailer's arrival came six months after season 2's first footage was revealed by way of a 2025 HBO Max sizzle reel video. With DC Studios holding a panel for Peacemaker 2 at San Diego Comic-Con 2025, I fully expect a new trailer to drop around July 26/27, too.

Peacemaker season 2 cast

Full spoilers follow for Peacemaker season 1.

Here's who you'll see in Peacemaker season 2:

• John Cena as Christopher Smith/Peacemaker
• Danielle Brooks as Leota Adebayo
• Freddie Stroma as Adrian Chase/Vigilante
• Jennifer Holland as Emilia Harcourt
• Steve Agee as John Economos
• Nhut Le as Judomaster
• Robert Patrick as Auggie Smith/White Dragon
• Viola Davis as Amanda Waller
• Frank Grillo as Rick Flag Sr.
• Tim Meadows as Langston Fleury
• Sol Rodriguez as Sasha Bordeaux
• Michael B. Rooker as Red St. Wild
• David Denman as TBC
• Isabela Merced as Kendra Saunders/Hawkgirl
• Nathan Fillion as Guy Gardner/Green Lantern
• Sean Gunn as Maxwell Lord

Chukwudi Iwuji’s Clemson Murn/Ik Nobe Llok, who died in season 1 episode 7, notwithstanding, the fist eight actors are all reprising their role from the series' debut season. That's in spite of Patrick's Auggie Smith also perishing last season, but he's likely returning as a ghost who, as the season 1 finale indicated, will continue to haunt his son.

On the newcomer front, the headline news is Grillo – best known for playing Brock 'Crossbones' Rumlow in the Captain America movies – will appear as Flag Sr. Grillo voiced the character's animated form in season 1 of R-rated TV series Creature Commandos, which launched on HBO Max last December and was the DCU's first project.

As we'll soon learn about in James Gunn's Superman movie, which flies into theaters on July 11, Flag Sr is the new head of ARGUS, a government organization that keeps tabs on DC Comics' various metahumans. As for why Davis' Waller isn't ARGUS chief anymore, Gunn said (via Threads) that season 2 will address this.

Other cast additions include Rodriguez (Star Trek: Picard) and Meadows (Mean Girls) as Bordeaux and Fleury, who appear to be ARGUS agents. Denman's role is yet to be publicly confirmed.

Meanwhile, Rooker is on board as an original character called Red St. Wild, who is the character in the above Instagram image. Speaking to Entertainment Weekly (EW), Gunn said he'll be the antagonist of a secondary plot involving Eagly, Peacemaker's bald eagle sidekick. Gunn's brother Sean, Merced, and Fillion will cameo as the Justice Gang, too, and interview Chris Smith for a position on their corporately-managed team.

Lastly, there are rumors (per Cinemablend) that Joel Kinnaman could return as Flag Jr. As I mentioned earlier, Smith killed him in The Suicide Squad so, if Kinnaman does return, he may do so as another apparition that Smith's guilty conscious creates. Oh, and Gunn also told EW: "There might even be one really, really, really big cameo near the end of the show", so place your bets on who that'll be.

Peacemaker season 2 story synopsis and speculation

Full spoilers follow for Peacemaker season 1. Potential spoilers are also discussed for season 2.

Here's Peacemaker season 2's official logline: "The new season follows Christopher 'Chris Smith, aka Peacemaker, the vigilante superhero as he struggles to reconcile his past with his newfound sense of purpose while continuing to kick righteous evil-doer butt in his misguided quest for peace at any cost."

Before we dive into more potentially spoiler-filled story territory, let's address the question on every fan's mind: will Peacemaker season 2 feature a new, dance number-esque intro sequence that'll surely go viral on TikTok? In short: yes.

"I'm very happy with it," Cena told Collider. "I want to say so much more, but I’ll just say I'm very happy with it. Everyone was super enthused and also understood how important it is this time around, and I really hope that shows. I know the show is great. In my mind, the opening number is great. I hope the world agrees."

"I'll give you an exclusive," Gunn also told EW. "You get to see Eagly try to dance, so that's really something. He is not the best at it, but he tries to really join in the dance sequence at the end. He's got a little pose this time."

But back to season 2's actual plot. "It essentially picks up where season 1 left off," Gunn told a fan on Threads, although he added that there’ll be "a couple of minor differences". Per EW, Gunn also said "a couple of years" have passed since last season's finale. Those "minor differences" are to be expected, especially in light of the fact that seasons 1 and 2 exist in completely different comic book universes.

Speaking to IGN, though, Gunn said of season 1's canonicity in the DCU: “The truth is almost all of Peacemaker is canon with the exception of The Justice League [who cameo at the end of season 1]. We will kind of deal with [that in season 2]". Gunn also teased (via EW) that the Quantum Unfolding Chamber, which we saw last season, "is the center of the story in Peacemaker season 2" and is likely to reveal how this series crosses over into and merges with the DCU.

Chris Smith will spend much of this chapter trying to stay out of Flag Sr's reach, too. Indeed, Flag Sr will be on a "mission of justice" to avenge his son's death. ARGUS' new chief has plenty of resources at his disposal – given his own military background, he's no slouch, either – so expect Peacemaker 2.0's story to largely center around this cat and mouse game as Flag Sr pursues the man who murdered his only child.

As for what lies in store if (or, rather, when) the pair physically and verbally clash, Grillo told Collider: “We do get into it. I’m not going to give anything away. It’s an interesting thing about Peacemaker and his perspective about my son, and what his feelings are about himself because of that. So, we did get into some tangles, but I don’t know that people are going to expect what’s to happen."

Smith will continue to contend with other moments his own trauma-laced past, including accidentally killing his older brother, dealing with his xenophobic and uncaring father (albeit from beyond the grave), and securing peace no matter who dies in the process.

He redeemed himself somewhat by helping to put a stop to the Butterflies in season 1 – so much so that, as the DCU Chapter One show's first trailer reveals, he'll even try and join the DCU's Justice Gang, which we'll first see in 2025's Superman. It seems, though, that it'll take more than one world-saving mission to remove the 'anti' part of his anti-hero facade.

"He's basically interviewing for membership in the group," Gunn said to EW, "But, they just mock him the entire time, so he's not taken seriously. He's still considered a punchline among all of the other metahumans, so he's starting the season in a bad place. As are all of our heroes, all of the 11th Street kids – well, everybody but Vigilante, who just always seems to be okay with everything."

Hopefully, every member of the 11th Street Kids will not only get their moment to shine in one of the best HBO Max shows' sophomore outing, but also be explored in more detail, too, especially from emotional and psychological perspectives.

"[Season 2 ] is all about the twists and turns," Gunn told EW. "It's about the surprises we find out in episode 1, 6, and 8. And it's a very, very emotional season – there's a lot of comedy like the first season, but there's also a lot of emotion in it, and it's really good."

How will Peacemaker season 2 impact the wider DCU?

The short answer is: I don't know. Once Peacemaker season 2 is out in full, we'll have a much better idea of how its story will affect the DCU moving forward.

For now, all Gunn has said (via EW) is "I developed it [season 2] along the way, in conjunction with the other DC projects that we're doing, so it's very much connected to Superman and it's very much connected to what comes after."

Right now, there are only three live-action projects in development at DC Studios: Supergirl (formally known as Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow), Lanterns, and Clayface. Of that trio, Lanterns is arguably the production that'll be most impacted by Peacemaker 2, especially with Fillion's Gardner set to have a role in the DCU's Green Lantern TV show.

How the other two movies or other unannounced DC Studios projects are affected remains to be seen. But, with Peacemaker season 2's launch date fast approaching, we won't have to wait much longer for answers.

For more DC Comics-based coverage, read our guides on how to watch the DC movies in order, how to watch the Superman movies in order, how to watch the Batman movies in order, and our ranking of the best Batman movies.