James Gunn’s Peacemaker series adds Orange is the New Black actress Danielle Brooks to the production. The HBO Max series is a spin-off of The Suicide Squad featuring John Cena’s character, the eponymous maniac who Cena described as a “douchey Captain America.” It’s still too early to know what exactly the series will look like or what shenanigans Peacemaker will get up to. Gunn’s refusal to place the series before or after The Suicide Squad means Peacemaker may yet die in his silver screen debut. What we do know is that it follows the lesser-known DC antihero who employs his immense wealth, physical prowess, and propensity for murder to bring peace to the world even if he has to burn it down in the process.
Gunn first got involved in the DCEU after he was fired (and before being rehired) by Disney from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. With DC producers likely hoping Gunn would work some of his Guardians of the Galaxy magic, he was hired to write and direct the sequel/soft reboot of 2016’s disastrous Suicide Squad. In the intervening time between his DC and Marvel film projects, Gunn decided to make a Peacemaker spinoff because he was bored during quarantine.
Deadline reports that Cena has a co-star in Orange is the New Black veteran Danielle Brooks. Brooks played secondary protagonist Tasha “Taystee” Jefferson on the Netflix comedy/drama about a women’s correctional facility. A recipient of three SAG and two NAACP awards, Brooks also starred on Broadway in the Tony Award-winning The Color Purple revival. Now she’s joining Cena and Steve Agee, who plays John Economos, as Leota Adebayo.
Brooks is certainly a talented, up-and-coming young actress, and Gunn tweeted his excitement to be working with her when the article was released. Brooks was a very large part of Orange is the New Black, a fan-favorite and the leading lady of a number of the show’s seasons. Unfortunately, her Peacemaker character is shrouded in mystery. No details have been released regarding how she relates to Cena’s character and his past. As the first confirmed Peacemaker star not to also have a role in The Suicide Squad, they couldn’t have picked up a better TV veteran.
It remains to be seen who of the squad will join Peacemaker in his own series, but Gunn has confirmed that a number of his colleagues will make an appearance. Despite the pandemic hitting both the DCEU and the MCU hard, Gunn is chugging along between both. Now under quarantine for two mandatory weeks in Canada, the writer/director says he’s preparing to start filming Peacemaker. It seems it’s only a matter of time before we learn just what Peacemaker and Adebayo are up to.
Source: Deadline
Originally from https://screenrant.com/peacemaker-suicide-squad-show-danielle-brooks-cast/