Did You Hear? is a weekly examination of headlines in the entertainment industry and a take on what they could mean for the future of the industry and (often), the little geeky bubble that we occupy!
… and Fan Drama Ensued
Last Friday brought us the gift of the second season trailer for Peacemaker starring John Cena:
Peacemaker Season 2 | Official Teaser | Max
Achieving peace is a team effort. Season ✌️ of #Peacemaker is streaming August 21 on Max. About Max: Max is the culture-defining entertainment service for every mood. With a variety of genres that include your favorite series and movies from iconic brands and treasured franchises, it delivers irresistible stories every time.
This was back when the WB streaming service was simply known as “Max” and we had none of the “HBO Max” rebranding drama of the world we now live in. Simpler times. This season promises more of the same James Gunn brand of zaniness that has polarized audiences. It hits whatever the streaming service is going to be called this summer on August 21st.
This week Warner Bros hopped forward a month in their marketing campaigns with the full length Superman trailer we were treated to earlier this week:
Superman | Official Trailer | DC
Your choices, your actions, that’s what makes you who you are. #Superman – Only In Theaters and @Imax July 11 “Superman,” DC Studios’ first feature film to hit the big screen, is set to soar into theaters worldwide this summer from Warner Bros. Pictures.
My main gripe, if I may offer one, is the Texas accents where we should be hearing Kansas accents, though I suspect I am in the minority for this. A detail like this definitely falls into the 80/20 rule of filmmaking. Given where Major Spoilers is based it does feel like mentioning.
Reactions to both trailers have been overwhelmingly positive, although if you can beat the algorithm there has been a bunch of discourse about whether or not the James Gunn DC movies are just the Zack Snyder DC movie universe with a bright colour-filter slapped on top.
In spite of that, Gunn and Snyder posted a supportive picture together in February of this year:
View this post on Instagram
Perhaps urging fans of either or both interpretation of the Man of Steel to carry forth his brand of kindness (“Big Blue Boy Scout,” anyone?), through the launch of this new era in DC Films?
There are Easter Eggs, certainly to be had, but the detail that I find to be the most compelling between Peacemaker season 2 and this year’s Superman movie is the connective tissue they share. Nathan Fillion’s Guy Gardner, Isabela Merced’s Hawkgirl, and Sean Gunn’s Maxwell Lord all appear throughout both. In fact the Peacemaker season 2 trailer sees the younger Gunn within seconds of the opening. Sean Gunn also provides the voices for both Weasel and G.I. Robot in the animated series Creature Commandos which debuted in December 5th of last year.
Fillion’s most arrogant of Green Lanterns, Guy Gardner, garners giggles from fans with his hijinx in the Superman trailer, engages in similar antics in the Peacemaker season 2 trailer, AND will hold a starring role in the HBO series Lanterns slated for tentative release in “early 2026.”
Spoilerites, could we have ever imagined a world where Maxwell Lord and Guy Gardner were the ties that bind of a DC Cinematic Universe?
Discourse is already swirling surrounding these very same observations and reactions have varied from positive, seeing this as James Gunn bringing his closest collaborators to the forefront of a massive project he is in charge of, others see it as negative and closer to nepotism (Gunn’s wife also appears in both Peacemaker and The Suicide Squad).
Personally, I’m not interested in dwelling in the gossip surrounding the current iteration of DC Films, what I do find interesting about this is the DC Comics fandom is already riddled with infighting as a result of some preview art and trailers. It leads me to further wonder if, once Superman hits the big screen, we’re going to be carried on a wave of conflict through the release of Peacemaker season 2, and the premier of Lanterns, and that, Spoilerites, is something I find exhausting.
The entertainment industry has one foot on the backpedal. Let me tell you, writing this right from Los Angeles, and this drama may be intentional. WB marketers may be salivating at the amount of keywords and hashtags bouncing around the internet. I’m not sure if this is going to hold up the building blocks of a brand new film franchise. Only time will tell. There will be many check ins on Superman and his amazing friends in the coming weeks and months.
