Peacemaker Season 2 Ending Explained: Why James Gunn Brought Checkmate & Salvation

peacemaker season 2 ending

peacemaker season 2 ending

James Gunn had long been teasing just how the DCU will shift once the ending of Peacemaker season 2 unfolds, but no one could've seen this one coming.

WARNING: This article contains MAJOR SPOILERS for Peacemaker season 2, so proceed with caution.

Peacemaker Season 2's Ending Explained

Peacemaker season 2's ending made a major shift into the future of DCU by including two things: the new heroic version of Checkmate and Salvation, the prison planet discovered within the QUC that only holds Chris Smith, courtesy of the villainous Rick Flag Sr. and his plan to exile all criminal metahumans there.

peacemaker season 2
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Credit: Troll Court Entertainment | The Safran Company | DC Studios | Warner Bros. Television | Fair use for news and promotional purposes

"Well, those are the two things that were always a part of this season," Gunn confirmed while recently speaking with Yahoo! News, "So when we sat down, even before I sat down with the writers' room in DC, I had sort of mapped out what I thought the general story was, and two important aspects to that were Checkmate and especially Salvation."

Essentially, Gunn said that this has been long in the plans for the future of DCU, in fact, even before he joined DC and met the writers' room. Chris remains an "important character" in Peacemaker, especially now that he's become a guinea pig in Rick Flag Sr.'s Salvation.

In addition to that, Gunn promised that we'll be seeing more of Checkmate: "You'll definitely see Checkmate carrying through like they're a thing now, so they're a part of what's going to happen, and I think they're going to be really, really good at what they do."

Gunn added that the next time we see Checkmate, "I think their circumstances will be a little different than the startup that they're now." So does this mean Peacemaker is getting a third season?

What Happens Next? Will Peacemaker Get a Season 3?

Peacemaker Season 2
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Credit: Troll Court Entertainment | The Safran Company | DC Studios | Warner Bros. Television | Fair use for news and promotional purposes

Unfortunately, as fun as a third Peacemaker sounds, Gunn has no plans for season 3 right now. Though he didn't deny that after the revelations of the ending, this breaks open the future of the "wider DCU."

"This is about the wider DCU and other stories in which this will play out right now," he explained, "That doesn't mean that there won't be. I don't want to never say never, but right now, no, this is about the future of the DCU."

He also claims there are "plans" for Captain Triumph (Keith Smith) in the future, but admits he hasn't "figured out exactly how it's all going to work out, so I have to make sure I can do it."

For now, fans can catch up on the latest on Peacemaker streaming on Max.

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