WARNING: The following article contains minor spoilers for "The Choad Les Traveled," the fourth episode of Peacemaker, streaming now on HBO Max.
The latest episode of Peacemaker, James Gunn's HBO Max series set within the DC Extended Universe, features a subtle reference to Jaume Collet-Serra's upcoming DCEU film Black Adam, which is set to premiere in theaters this summer.
In the fourth and most recent episode of Peacemaker, "The Choad Less Traveled," there is a scene in which a police officer is seen reading a newspaper. As pointed out by an eagle-eyed user on the r/DC_Cinematic subreddit, one of the headlines on the frontpage makes reference to both "Intergang" and the "nation of Kahndaq."
In the original DC comic books, Intergang is a criminal organization armed with technology supplied by the New Gods of Apokolips. Back in July of 2021, Black Adam star Sarah Shahi -- who plays Adrianna Tomaz, aka Isis -- confirmed that Intergang would indeed play a role in the upcoming film. Meanwhile, Kahndaq is a fictional country on the Sinai Peninsula ruled and protected by Black Adam himself.
Even if their respective lead characters never actually meet on-screen, it seems rather fitting that Peacemaker of all projects would feature a nod to the upcoming Black Adam film. After all, Christopher Smith/Peacemaker is portrayed by John Cena, while Teth-Adam/Black Adam is played by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. Both actors got their start as wrestlers for WWE, with Johnson being one of the biggest stars of the Attitude Era before Cena went on to define the Ruthless Aggression Era. The two era-defining superstars even faced off against each other for a duology of main-event WrestleMania matches in 2012 and 2013.
Peacemaker spins out of the events of Gunn's 2021 DCEU film The Suicide Squad, with Cena reprising his role as the chauvinistic anti-hero who was shot in the throat by Bloodsport (Idris Elba), but still managed to kick out before the Grim Reaper counted to three. The show premiered its first three episodes on HBO Max on Thursday, Jan. 13. Episode 4 dropped yesterday, Jan 20. Peacemaker Season 1 is slated to run for eight episodes of total, and will conclude on Feb. 17.
Meanwhile, Black Adam is due to hit theaters on Friday, July 29, serving as a spinoff of the 2019 Zachary Levi-led DCEU film Shazam!. It follows Johnson's Black Adam, the errant champion of the wizard shazam. In addition to Intergang, Black Adam is set to introduce the Justice Society of America to the DCEU. Moreover, The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker star Jennifer Holland is rumored to be reprising her role as Emilia Harcourt in Black Adam. Elsewhere, Shazam! is currently headed for a direct sequel in the form of Shazam! Fury of the Gods, due for release on June 2, 2023.
The first four episodes of Peacemaker are streaming now on HBO Max, with new episodes debuting on Thursdays. Meanwhile, Black Adam is slated to release in theaters on July 29.
Source: Reddit