HBO Max decided to cancel the red carpet premiere of James Gunn's Peacemaker series following reports that coronavirus (COVID-19) cases are rapidly increasing across the United States.

The premiere was scheduled for Jan. 8 in Los Angeles, but Deadline reports the decision to cancel the event was made before the holidays. Specifically, the emergence of the Omicron variant and its effect on the number of new cases forced the streaming platform to choose caution and cancel the red carpet premiere.

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The canceled Peacemaker event is the latest in a series of major premieres impacted by the recent rise of COVID-19 cases. Over the holidays, Disney+ issued a statement postponing the planned Jan. 4 red carpet premiere of The Book of Boba Fett. "Out of an abundance of caution, we will be postponing the Boba Fett fan event," Disney+ said at the time. "It will be relocated to the 8th of February in celebration of the finale." Plans for Tom Holland to surprise fans on the opening night of Spider-Man: No Way Home were also canceled due to concerns around the ongoing pandemic.

Peacemaker stars John Cena as the titular antihero and follows his debut appearance in The Suicide Squad. While the series takes place after the events of the film, series creator Gunn recently confirmed it's not necessary to have watched The Suicide Squad prior to Peacemaker, as any necessary information will be "[filled] in at the beginning of the show."

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As well as catching the beginning of the show, Gunn also encouraged Peacemaker viewers to keep watching until the end, as every episode has a post-credit scene. When asked about the post-credit content on Twitter, Gunn explained it was his "way to give you guys a little something special for watching the credits of our hardworking crew."

The latest trailer and synopsis for Peacemaker promises not only plenty of action but also some tense scenes between Cena's Christopher Smith and his father Auggie, played by Robert Patrick. Cena recently spoke of the conflict between father and son, saying the show "addresses a very important thing that all of us can relate to, and that's the sometimes uncomfortable dysfunction of family."

Cena continued, "I never want to tell people how to feel or think when they watch something, but I really love the fact that it hits on a lot of stuff about what family means to us, searching for approval of others, how to live your life, and nature versus nurture and how we're raised."

Created by James Gunn, Peacemaker starts streaming on HBO Max on Jan. 13.

KEEP READING: Peacemaker Clip Introduces the Suicide Squad Star's New Team

Source: Deadline