The first season of Peacemaker confirmed that Christopher Smith is bisexual, and John Cena credits series creator James Gunn for adding that extra depth to the character.
"I think, ultimately, that was James's choice," Cena told People. "I know he's given me the credit for that. I just wanted this guy to have so much about himself to figure out. On the surface, he appears to be: what you see is what you get. And I think a lot of the audience who had seen The Suicide Squad, when we announced that there was a Peacemaker spin-off, a lot of them were upset because their first impression was their total impression. What we see is what we get: We see a bad guy with no redeemable qualities."
Cena explained that Peacemaker gave its audience more insight into who Smith is beyond his appearance in The Suicide Squad. "But when you dive into Peacemaker, the series, you see a human being that is like all of the rest of us," Cena said. "We are using our time here to simply try to figure out what the hell is going on. I thought that was a very unique added dimension, especially because of the snap judgment first impression you get when looking at the Peacemaker character."
Cena, who has previously discussed a significant shift in the fans' attitude towards Peacemaker, noted that the series allowed the viewers to form their own opinions about the character. "I've got to give James the credit for grabbing the ball and running with it," he said. "What I like most about it, it just is. It allows the audience to come to their own conclusions and that's okay. Very much of our show certainly approaches a lot of sensitive subject matter, but it simply just is. Again, it allowed the audience to make their own conclusions."
Christopher Smith's bisexuality was not confirmed until Episode 7, "Stop Dragon My Heart Around." During a violent confrontation between Smith and his racist father, Auggie Smith aka the White Dragon, Auggie berates his son for sleeping with both men and women. Despite the aggressive tone of the scene, many fans celebrated the confirmation that Peacemaker was bisexual.
Picking up directly after the events of The Suicide Squad, Peacemaker sees Cena's Christopher Smith drafted into an off-the-books mission known as Project Butterfly. He is joined by ARGUS agents Emilia Harcourt (Jennifer Holland), John Economos (Steve Agee), Clemson Murn (Chukwudi Iwuji) and Leota Abedayo (Danielle Brooks), as well as Adrian Chase/Vigilante (Freddie Stroma).
Season 1 of Peacemaker, which was recently renewed for a second season, is now available to watch in full on HBO Max.
Source: People