Peacemaker: John Cena assembles a new squad in first look image from new series

WARNING: This article contains major plot spoilers for The Suicide Squad. Read at your own peril.

If you’re one of the many people who couldn’t get enough of John Cena’s Peacemaker in James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad, get ready to cock your gun and shoot for the sky in the name of justice. Actually, don’t do that. Firing guns into the air is very dangerous. What goes up must come down, and those bullets are just as deadly when raining down from above. As I was about to say, Entertainment Weekly has debuted a first look image at the upcoming Peacemaker series.

The eight-episode HBO Max series, which premieres in January, centers on “black ops combating something catastrophic that’s facing the planet,” according to Gunn. But wait, didn’t Peacemaker die in The Suicide Squad? Well, not exactly. If you stuck around for the post-credits stinger, Gunn showed treated fans to a scene in which Jennifer Holland’s Harcourt and Steve Agee’s Economos visit a comatose but alive Peacemaker in the hospital. “I did exactly the thing I hate when other filmmakers do [it],” confessed Gunn. “But I did it! I’ll have to live with the repercussions, which is the most incredible TV show people will ever see.”

In talking with EW, Gunn revealed that Peacemaker, Harcourt, and Economos team up with three new characters for the series. Chukwudi Iwuji is group leader Murn (one of Waller’s mercenaries), Freddie Stroma plays Vigilante (a vigilante), and Danielle Brooks is Adebayo. “She isn’t always treated the best by the people around her, but despite her differences with Peacemaker, they form a bond,” says Gunn.

Gunn, who wrote and directed all five episodes of Peacemaker, says that he would return to the series if it’s a hit. Oh, Gunn, you sweet summer child, we all know it’s going to be a smash. After all, superhero fans can’t get enough of your style, and the Peacemaker character is already a hit. If I were you, I’d block off some time on your calendar for when the call inevitably comes in. Oh, and get Cena to commit while you’re at it because his dance card is getting fuller by the moment.