Writer/director James Gunn compares Peacemaker’s Adrian Chase/Vigilante to The Office’s self-proclaimed “world’s best boss,” Michael Scott. The first spinoff of Gunn’s critically-acclaimed The Suicide Squad, Peacemaker premiered on HBO Max earlier this month. Picking up after the film’s credits scene, the series follows John Cena’s “douchey Captain America” alongside Amanda Waller’s (Viola Davis) ARGUS (Advanced Research Group Uniting Superhumans) as they enact Project Butterfly. Peacemaker also stars Danielle Brooks, Jennifer Holland, Steve Agee, Chukwudi Iwuji, and Robert Patrick.
In Peacemaker’s pilot, audiences are introduced to Christopher Smith/Peacemaker’s sidekick (behind Eagley) in deranged “hero” Adrian Chase/Vigilante (Freddie Stroma). Originally, Vigilante was played by Chris Conrad, but Gunn recast the role after five episodes due to “creative issues.” As a cheerful and enthusiastic foil to the more stoic Peacemaker, Vigilante is just as violent and efficient, if not more so, than his best friend. While Peacemaker begins to struggle with decisions akin to killing Rick Flag in The Suicide Squad, Vigilante still very much enjoys his vocation. The series’ latest episode, “The Choad Less Traveled,” saw the sidekick land himself in prison to kill Auggie Smith (Patrick).
Gunn recently took to Twitter as fans discussed episode 4 of Peacemaker. A fan commented on being worried Vigilante wouldn’t make it out of prison alive before making easy work of Smith's Aryans, which prompted Gunn to compare the character to The Office’s Michael Scott. Though viewers of the beloved sitcom might be nervous at such a comparison, the filmmaker actually meant it to be comforting. Check out the tweets below:
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Excluding a cameo in the finale, Steve Carell played Michael Scott for seven seasons on NBC’s popular workplace sitcom. Some fans argue the first seven seasons are superior, since Carell wasn't present for seasons 8 and 9. Being both sporadically well-intentioned and incompetent while surprisingly effective, the Scranton regional manager is somewhat of an enigma. Perhaps the one thing that has always remained clear about Carell’s insecure character is his desire to be liked, which is something that can also be said about Vigilante.
It’d also be easy to compare Peacemaker’s Vigilante to The Office’s Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson). Similar to the relationship between Dwight and Michael, Vigilante worships Cena's Peacemaker and insists on following him around - something that becomes apparent in episode 1, when Peacemaker discovers a slew of voicemails from his persistent friend. In the series, the main reason Vigilante is now a part of ARGUS is because he’s “such a dingus.” Thankfully, he’s also “surprisingly good at his job in many moments” and has helped to make Peacemaker the best-reviewed DCEU project thus far.
Source: James Gunn/Twitter
