Peacemaker’s reign as DC’s anti-hero bi-con is alive and well!
In the opening scene of the season two red-band trailer, John Cena’s titular hero welcomes his wannabe best friend, Adrian Chase/Vigilante (Freddie Stroma), into a house packed with naked bodies of all genders.
“I had some people over,” Peacemaker tells Vigilante, who’s annoyed at not being invited. When Peacemaker points out that he thought Vigilante “doesn’t seem that into sex,” Vigilante fires back — seemingly confirming his fellow bi king status — “I’m into sex because, like a lot of people, it’s an opportunity to bond with my best friend.”
“That’s not like a lot of people,” Peacemaker responds, horrified, as he walks away.
The character’s sexuality was confirmed in season one during an altercation with his father, the white supremacist ‘White Dragon’ (Robert Patrick), who shouted: “I knew you was unclean when you were born. […] I knew when you slept with the whores of polluted blood — and men!”
Later in the season, he also had a threesome with Vigilante and a woman.
And in a recent interview with showrunner James Gunn, Cena joked that if Peacemaker had to “eliminate a Tinder date, he would just go to Grindr and find another date,” adding: “The great thing about Peacemaker is that all apps are welcome, all the time.”
While Cena isn’t queer himself, he’s been open about his allyship with the LGBTQIA+ community. In 2016, he teamed up with Love Has No Labels, a movement promoting “acceptance and inclusion of all people across race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age, and disability.”
Last year, in an interview with Dax Shepard, the actor and wrestler recalled defending his older gay brother from homophobic bullies. Cena also voiced his support for fellow wrestler Darren Young and NFL player Michael Sam after they came out as gay.
Peacemaker, which premieres its second season on 21 August on HBO Max, also stars Danielle Brooks as Leota Adebayo, Jennifer Holland as Emilia Harcourt and Steve Agee as John Economos.
Rounding out the cast are Frank Grillo as Rick Flag Sr., Sol Rodríguez as Sasha Bordeaux, Tim Meadows as Langston Fleury and Michael Rooker as Red St. Wild.
Season one took place in the now-cancelled DC Extended Universe (DCEU), where Cena first played Peacemaker in The Suicide Squad (2021). Season two shifts to the DC Universe (DCU) in what’s being called a “soft reboot.”
The first entry in the DCU was Superman, also directed by Gunn, which was released earlier this year to critical acclaim. Isabela Merced, Nathan Fillion, and Sean Gunn will reprise their Superman roles as Hawkgirl, Green Lantern, and Maxwell Lord in season two of Peacemaker.
Watch the trailer below.
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