With so many big names, it’s not surprising that The Suicide Squad is getting spin-offs. HBO Max has gone straight to series for “Peacemaker.” Played by John Cena, the character is one of the members of the Suicide Squad that will be featured in director/writer James Gunn‘s The Suicide Squad. Gunn will write the series and direct multiple episodes including the pilot.

The series has been ordered for eight episodes and is based on the DC Comics character. The series has been described as an adventure/comedy but the plot is being held tight.

In the teaser video for The Suicide Squad, Peacemaker is described as a “douchey Captain America” by Cena. He’s a man that believes that peace can be achieved at any cost and that includes the body count.

Peacemaker was originally owned by Charlton Comics and was created by Joe Gill and Pat Boyette. He debuted in Fightin’ 5 #40 in November 1966. DC acquired the character in the 1980s and published a four-issue series in 1988. One of the character‘s identities, Christopher Smith, was mentioned in the DC television series Black Lightning. Smith is the version that Cena plays in the film and upcoming television series but it is unknown if it’s the same character from Black Lightning. With DC focused more on merging their television and film worlds, there is a chance.

The series will begin production in 2021 and will be before Gunn pivots to Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 for Marvel.

The Suicide Squad is currently set to be released August 6, 2021.

Earlier this year it was announced that The Batman will also get an HBO Max spinoff series focused on the Gotham PD. It’s a sign that Warner Bros. and their parent company ATT are much more focused on cross-platform media tie-ins leveraging all of their distribution platforms and channels.