‘Peacemaker’s James Gunn & Stars on ‘Superman’ Retcon, That Orgy & Alternate Dimensional Twist (VIDEO)

[Warning: The above video and below contain MAJOR spoilers for Peacemaker Season 2, Episode 1, “The Ties That Grind.”]

Peacemaker is back and delivering double the drama for Christopher Smith (John Cena) and friends with an alternate dimension twist in Season 2. But before the premiere episode got too far ahead of itself, creator James Gunn did some retconning from Season 1 as the sizzle reel recapping the events of Peacemaker‘s first chapter revealed a big change, namely the replacement of the Snyderverse’s Justice League with DC’s newly canon Justice Gang — Green Lantern (Nathan Fillion), Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced), and Mr. Teriffic (Edi Gathegi) — alongside new Superman, David Corenswet, and Supergirl, Milly Alcock.

So, does this mean the final cut of Season 1’s finale has been altered permanently? “I would have to change too many things throughout Season 1, it would cost too much money, and I’d rather just give that money to a few more CGI shots in Supergirl,” co-head of DC, Gunn, tells TV Insider. “We say canon is really Creature Commandos, Superman, Peacemaker Season 2. I love for people to watch Season 1, but obviously… we’re not gonna go back and reshoot all of it… at least not at this point,” he adds, noting, “At some point, I would love to Lucas the s**t out of it, but right now I don’t have the money.”

That brief hint of this latest era of DC touching the Peacemaker series is expanded upon when we pick back up with Chris as he now lives in his late father Auggie’s (Robert Patrick) house alongside his best friend and pet, Eagly. When the bird begs to be let out for room to fly, Chris decides to use his father’s dimensional portal, accessible through one of the house closets, rather than going out in the cold weather.

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When Eagly squawks out, Peacemaker follows the bird to find him at one of the various doors found in the space. The catch? It’s a near match for his own door. Behind it is a world in which Peacemaker’s father — whom he killed in Season 1 — and his brother Keith (David Denman) are alive. The startled reaction of Chris coming face-to-face with this alternate-dimensional Auggie transitions into Season 2’s opening title sequence featuring a brand-new dance set to the tune of “Oh Lord” by Foxy Shazam.

As for tackling the alternate-dimensional plotline, which feels like a perfect segue after Superman‘s pocket universe and dimensional rift in Metropolis, Gunn says, when it comes to Peacemaker Season 2, “This is not about the craziness, this is about Christopher Smith confronting the loss of the thing he never had, which is a brother, an adult that he could grow old with, and a father who loves him… and seeing what life would be like.”

Flashbacks in Season 1 revealed that Peacemaker had accidentally killed his older brother, Keith, as a kid, and the trauma of that continued to shape his worldview. In this alternate dimension, Keith grew to be an adult, in what appears to be a loving father-son dynamic with Auggie and an alternate-dimensional Chris.

But our Peacemaker doesn’t meet Keith until months after he first encountered the door at the start of the episode. In the intervening time, Chris tried out for the Justice Gang, receiving support from bestie Adebayo (Danielle Brooks), only to be harshly rejected by Green Lantern, Hawkgirl, and Maxwell Lord (Sean Gunn), after a hilarious snafu with the speaker system.

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When Chris approached his crush and former colleague, Harcourt (Jennifer Holland), to see how her unsuccessful job hunt was going, he also broached the topic of their relationship, while undefined, is clearly marked by some major event that occurred offscreen. Whatever that event might be, Harcourt promises Peacemaker it will never happen again.

Upset over the rejection from Harcourt and Justice Gang, Chris calls up some folks for a good old-fashioned orgy, which reminds viewers that Peacemaker is proudly bisexual. “I think people have come to expect Peacemaker‘s extremes… I’m trying to really be careful and warn everyone that it is a continuation of Superman, but it’s also for adults,” Gunn shares of making the bold step to kick off Season 2 with such a riotous event.

“It’s a truthful moment where Peacemaker is relapsing… sort of falling back into old behaviors because he’s not getting what he wants,” Gunn says of the orgy. “He’s rejected by Harcourt, he’s rejected by the Justice Gang, and so he reverts to covering up his feelings in the way he did before Season 1, which is through drugs and alcohol, and sex.” The big difference? “We get to see it in action as opposed to him just talking about everything off-screen,” Gunn adds.

While the party may feed into destructive behavior like overdrinking and getting drugged up, it also pushes him back through the alternate-dimensional door to cross paths with Keith and Auggie. Regarding his casting, Denman tells TV Insider, “I was shocked and surprised to be asked, in my fifties, to play a superhero character.”

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Although taking on the role was an easy yes, Denman says, it meant that he needed to “get in the best shape of your life to do this, and we have a small window of time to get there.” As for playing into the more emotional aspects of his scenes with Cena, like the moment when Chris tells Keith he loves him, and it has so much more meaning to Peacemaker than himself, Denman shares, “It’s the beauty of James Gunn’s work, right? He has a show that has the gamut of all those emotions. You have very broad comedy, dark comedy, and you have drama and intense action…. Then you have these very sweet, tender, emotional scenes.”

“I was a fan of John’s,” Denman adds, saying, “I don’t know that I’ve ever seen him have to be this vulnerable in other roles, but I was blown away when we were shooting those scenes. He was really giving and allowed himself to be so vulnerable. It was really beautiful to watch.”

That beautiful moment is disrupted when the alternate dimension Peacemaker shows up, leading to a battle in the dimensional portal space. Ultimately, our Peacemaker wins the fight, but at the cost of the alt-universe Chris’s life. To make matters worse, his pal Economos (Steve Agee), who is working for A.R.G.U.S., has been tasked with surveilling Peacemaker, as the organization attempts to avoid any rifts like the one that hit Metropolis.

This puts Economos under the eyes of newbie Sasha Bordeaux (Sol Rodriguez) and, by proxy, Rick Flag Sr. (Frank Grillo), as he’s also left to entertain Peacemaker’s other bestie Vigilante (Freddie Stroma). All of these stars and more break down the biggest moments from Peacemaker‘s Season 2 premiere in the full video interview above. Stay tuned for more coverage as Season 2 unfolds, and let us know what you thought of Peacemaker‘s return in the comments section below.

Peacemaker, Season 2, Thursdays, 9/8c, HBO Max