Do you need to watch James Gunn's Superman before Peacemaker season 2? Explained

Peacemaker season 2 and James Gunn’s recently released Superman are set in the DC Universe, and fans wondered if the two were linked and whether Superman needs to be watched ahead of Peacemaker 2. Well, there’s no need to watch Superman before the show's second installment, said the showrunner himself.

DC Studios released James Gunn’s new Superman movie on digital platforms on August 15, just a week before Peacemaker season 2, making fans wonder about its early release.

James Gunn responded to one of the fans on his Instagram Thread, saying that watching Superman isn’t necessary to understand Peacemaker’s universe. He clarified,

But he also said it’s “more fun” if you do watch Superman, since the two stories share some characters and events.

He opened up about the reason for the early release of Superman on digital platforms, saying,

He explained that the show includes a “Previously in the DCU” segment before every episode, which makes it easy for viewers to follow the TV storylines.

**What major events connect Peacemaker season 2 and Superman?**

Already tying various stories together, Superman even introduces new characters and plots. It also makes connections to James Gunn's previous works from the DC Universe, including The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker Season 1.

John Cena, aka Peacemaker, even surprised the fans by appearing in a short post-credit scene in Superman. It shows how the two stories are connected and was one of the major highlights from the movie itself.

Even though James Gunn hinted at a “really, really, really big cameo” in Peacemaker Season 2, it’s still not clear if Superman will actually appear in the HBO Max show.

Rick Flag Sr., who first appeared in Creature Commandos and is now a U.S. General, plays an important role in Superman. In the movie, he refuses Lex Luthor’s plan to create an anti-metahuman task force.

Later, he watches news of Superman defeating Luthor and stopping an alien invasion, with a government official warning that now metahumans are setting the rules.

In Peacemaker Season 2, Flag Sr. becomes the new Director of A.R.G.U.S., showing how these events have changed his view on metahumans and bringing new conflicts in the story.

Superman even introduces the Justice Gang, a new team of metahumans funded by Maxwell Lord, with key members including Hawkgirl, Guy Gardner, and Metamorpho.

The team appears again in Peacemaker Season 2. They were seen refusing to let Peacemaker join the Gang.

Even though he’s rejected, Peacemaker still wants to be part of the team. All he wants is to be a better hero this time, with no killings and wrongdoings just for the sake of 'peace.'

Peacemaker was seen saying in the trailer that, “I don’t want to be a joke anymore. I want to be a real hero.” In The Suicide Squad (2021), Rick Flag Jr. called him a joke before he was killed during a mission.

Now, Rick Flag Sr. (played by Frank Grillo), who is the new A.R.G.U.S. director, wants to stop Peacemaker and bring him to justice for his son’s death.

One thing to watch before starting with the second season of Peacemaker is the first season, where they hunt down the alien parasites named The Butterflies.

Now, the new season follows him becoming a better hero and dealing with his past mistakes, along with the fun element of a ‘’dimensional portal.’’