James Gunn on Explosive Peacemaker Finale, DCU Changes, Deadpool Cameo, and Season 3

After the first season of Peacemaker, we knew what we were in for: glorious, R-rated chaos, an eagle that gives hugs, and an intro dance sequence that lives rent-free in our heads. Season 2, however, decided not just to continue the story but to drop some serious narrative bombs that will ripple across the entire DCU. So, grab your tighty-whities and your favorite helmet, because we need to talk about that finale from Peacemaker Season 2. 

The DCU’s Future Post Peacemaker: Checkmate and

Salvation

Let’s be honest, when James Gunn took the reins of the DCU, we all buckled up for a wild and slightly unhinged ride. The Season 2 finale of Peacemaker, “Full Nelson,” wasn’t just about wrapping up Chris Smith’s latest emotional breakdown (we’ll get to that). It was a backdoor pilot for two massive concepts straight from the comics: the clandestine agency Checkmate and the metahuman prison planet, Salvation. According to Gunn himself, these weren’t just random cool ideas he threw at the wall.

He’s been planning this since before he even got the top job at DC. According to Variety, Gunn said, “That was always pretty instrumental in the overarching story that I’m telling in the DCU,” he said. “I had mapped out what I thought the general story was, and two important aspects to that were Checkmate and especially Salvation.” 

So, what are they? First up is Checkmate. After the 11th Street Kids basically told the established powers-that-be to shove it, they decided to start their own gig. Led by the ever-inspiring Adebayo and funded by Vigilante’s blood-soaked crime-fighting money, they’ve formed a private, independent agency actually to do some good.

This isn’t your typical government-sanctioned team. This is a scrappy, disillusioned group of anti-heroes and former agents, including Peacemaker and Judomaster, creating their own rules. Gunn, a self-proclaimed fan of the comic version, sees this as the “real culmination” of the team’s journey. It sets them up as a major independent player in the DCU, and you can bet they’ll be doing things the Justice League wouldn’t touch with a ten-foot Batarang.

So, About That Deadpool Cameo…

Then there’s the even bigger bombshell: Salvation. While Checkmate was getting its startup funding, Rick Flag Sr. (Frank Grillo’s very angry character) was busy using Chris’s portal for his own twisted project. He tasked A.R.G.U.S. with finding a habitable alternate dimension, not for a vacation home, but to create an off-world supermax prison for metahumans. This prison planet, dubbed “Salvation,” is a direct nod to the “Salvation Run” comic series.

Gunn loves the core concept: a rash, morally gray decision to yeet all the super-powered problems into another dimension. What could go wrong? Before we get to the gut-punch of an ending, let’s address the crossover that almost broke the internet. While A.R.G.U.S. was dimension-hopping, Gunn admitted he had a brilliant, fourth-wall-shattering idea.

He wanted one of those portal doors to open and reveal none other than Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool, just chilling. He actually talked to Reynolds about it, and Reynolds was game! Can you imagine? The legal gymnastics required would have been monumental, of course. A Marvel character appearing in a DC show would be the kind of event that makes comic book fans’ heads explode.

Per IGN, Gunn joked, “That’s all anybody’s going to talk about now. Is f****** Deadpool in the other room? I should have never said it!” I should’ve never said it!” Too late, James. Now we’ll forever be dreaming of the Peace-Pool team-up that could have been. Is This the End for Peacemaker? Now for the part that hurts. The Peacemaker Season 2 finale ended on a massive cliffhanger. As payback for killing his son, Rick Flag Sr. kidnaps Chris and throws him into the newly established Salvation, leaving him stranded and alone on a prison planet.

Final Thoughts

While we might not see the Peacemaker title card again for a while, Chris Smith’s story is far from over. He’s now a pivotal piece in the cosmic chessboard of the DCU, and his time on Salvation is guaranteed to be a central plot point in the franchise’s future.