Peacemaker creator James Gunn addressed the relationship between the DC Extended Universe show and current events, and how it differs from the attitude in The Suicide Squad.
When asked if the relationship between his heroes and government authorities can be compared to a parent that doesn't have their child's best interests in heart, Gunn told Vulture, "Well, there's an argument to be made for that. Definitely in Suicide Squad, that’s a prominent thing we get into, our relationship with a government that's using us. But Peacemaker's a little different because everything involving the government is so behind-the-scenes. We hear about the government manipulations, but we don’t get into the details too fully. Peacemaker is about what's going on in America, but it's more about what's going on within America's people than within the government itself."
The Suicide Squad saw a group of imprisoned antiheroes offered lighter sentences if they agreed to a take on a mission from government agent Amanda Waller. As the squad got further into its mission, they discovered the U.S. government was using them to cover up its own involvement in secret experiments. Unlike his fellow squad members, the jingoistic Peacemaker also had a secret agenda of his own -- to keep the conspiracy a secret, at any cost.
The Peacemaker TV show was set up in The Suicide Squad's post-credits scene when John Cena's Christoper Smith/Peacemaker was revealed to have survived the mission in Corto Maltese. The first season of Peacemaker showed Smith's growth as a character and how he began to regret his actions during the Suicide Squad mission, most notably his murder of Rick Flag.
Peacemaker was renewed for a second season, giving Gunn and Cena even more chances to explore Smith's character growth and relationship with the authorities. Gunn isn't afraid to draw on characters from the DC Extended Universe when needed, as seen in the Peacemaker Season 1 finale when members of the Justice League arrived late to the final battle. The scene saw Jason Momoa and Ezra Miller reprise their roles as Aquaman and The Flash respectively, while Wonder Woman and Superman were portrayed by stand-ins.
Season 1 of Peacemaker is available to stream on HBO Max.
Source: Vulture