In between The Suicide Squad and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, James Gunn found the time to create, write, and partially direct Peacemaker, an eight-episode DCEU spin-off series revolving around John Cena’s peace-loving antihero. While The Suicide Squad was a box office disappointment in its theatrical window, its spin-off has proven to be a resounding success in the streaming-sphere.
From the beginning of his filmmaking career, Gunn has had an idiosyncratic directorial voice marked by a handful of recurring trademarks, like dark humor, soundtrack needle-drops, and questionable parental figures. Peacemaker has exhibited a bunch of the familiar traits of Gunn’s storytelling.
Dark Humor
Gunn’s writing is defined by a pitch-black comedic sensibility. Slither gets laughs from alien slugs taking over human beings. Super gets laughs from a masked vigilante dropping a wrench on a crook’s head from a fire escape. The PG-13 rating of the Guardians movies limits the darkness of the movies’ humor, but there’s still a gag involving Groot severing someone’s thumb and the line, “If I had a black light, this place would look like a Jackson Pollock painting.”
With a lead character who brazenly kills people in the name of peace, it’s fair to say that Peacemaker has a healthy dose of Gunn’s signature dark humor. This show has wrung laughs out of an eagle swooping down to peck cops to death and a superpowered gorilla being cut open with a chainsaw.
Soundtrack Full Of Needle-Drops
Ever since scoring Guardians of the Galaxy with the late ‘60s and early ‘70s hits that populate Peter Quill’s “Awesome Mix” tape, Gunn has been renowned for his soundtrack choices. The Guardians sequel featured another volume of “Awesome Mix” with hits by ELO and George Harrison, and The Suicide Squad’s soundtrack contains songs by such disparate artists as Johnny Cash, Louis Prima, and the Fratellis.
In keeping with this tradition, Peacemaker’s soundtrack is filled with needle-drops. Gunn has mostly licensed the kind of glam rock classics that Peacemaker himself would listen to, from the likes of Mötley Crüe, Hanoi Rocks, and the Quireboys.
Body Horror
Gunn got his start with Troma Entertainment in the ‘90s, so his background is in gruesome, blood-soaked horror. His directorial debut, Slither, is a fun riff on classic sci-fi B-movies with plenty of gore. And Super isn’t exactly a horror movie, but its violence is pretty difficult to stomach.
While there was no blood or guts in Gunn’s PG-13-rated Guardians movies, the writer-director has gone back to his grisly “body horror” roots in his recent hard-R DCEU projects. The Suicide Squad has a kaiju that shoots out little brain parasites dubbed “Project Starfish” and Peacemaker has a Body Snatchers-style alien invasion dubbed “Project Butterfly.”
Adorable CG Creatures
Ever since “Baby Groot” became a cultural phenomenon, Gunn has become fond of cute computer-generated characters. The Suicide Squad introduced moviegoers to Sebastian, a surprisingly adorable rat, and King Shark, a walking, talking shark with a heart of gold.
The Peacemaker spin-off has its own adorable CG sidekick in the form of Eagly, Peacemaker’s pet eagle. Eagly is both a ruthless killer who swoops down to take people out with his beak and a friendly animal sidekick who occasionally hugs Peacemaker with his wings.
Questionable Parental Figures
Questionable parenting can be seen all over Gunn’s work. Gamora and Nebula’s dad is Thanos. Peter Quill’s dad is a genocidal planet bent on reshaping the universe in his own image. Bloodsport’s dad locked him in a crate full of starving rats for a full day to toughen him up.
One of the main villains in Peacemaker is the titular antihero’s father, Auggie Smith, a white supremacist-themed superhero known as the “White Dragon.” He forced a young Peacemaker to fight with his brother for his friends’ amusement, and one of those fights ended in the brother’s untimely death.
Uncovering The Dramatic Abilities Of Comedic Actors
Gunn allowed The Office star Rainn Wilson to demonstrate his unseen dramatic depth in the subversive comic book satire Super. Chris Pratt was only known as a comedic performer when Gunn cast him as Star-Lord in the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise. Now that his Marvel performances have shown off his leading-man charisma and capacity for nuance, Pratt is one of the most sought-after stars in Hollywood.
Peacemaker continues Gunn’s trend of uncovering the undiscovered dramatic talents of comedic actors. Wrestler-turned-movie star John Cena had previously only appeared in comedies, but he handled the emotional scenes in Peacemaker – particularly the murder of his father – surprisingly well.
Pop Culture References
Pop culture references have been prevalent in movie dialogue since Tarantino made it cool with Reservoir Dogs’ “Like a Virgin” debate and Pulp Fiction’s “Royale with Cheese” scene. Gunn’s work is filled with references to popular culture. Star-Lord refers to the first Guardians movie’s MacGuffin having “a real Ark of the Covenant, Maltese Falcon vibe.”
Some scenes in Peacemaker are entirely made up of pop culture references. When Peacemaker is giving examples of fake names his team could give, he rattles off dozens of celebrities (and there’s even more waiting in the episode’s post-credits scene).