The Suicide Squad's Viola Davis is in talks to reprise her role as Amanda Waller for a Peacemaker spinoff series at HBO Max.
According to Variety, Davis is being eyed to both star in and executive produce the new series, which would focus on the Waller character. The series is said to build off of Waller's appearance at the end of HBO Max's Peacemaker. Along with Davis, Watchmen's Christal Henry will write and executive produce. James Gunn and Peter Safran will also executive produce, while Warner Bros. Television will produce. Further details on the series and plot are currently being kept under wraps at this time.
Davis first appeared as Amanda Waller in 2016's Suicide Squad by director David Ayer. Based on the DC Comics character of the same name, Waller is responsible for forming the Suicide Squad and directly overseeing the group on their missions. While Waller may say that her intentions are to save the world, she's often willing to take extreme measures to do so and frequently comes off as a villain more so than a hero.
Waller reprised her role for 2021's The Suicide Squad, which was directed by Gunn. She also appeared in a handful of Peacemaker episodes. Peacemaker further revealed that Waller has a daughter, Leota Adebayo (played by Danielle Brooks). The first season of the show ended with Adebayo calling out her mother for forming the highly illegal and unethical Task Force X/Suicide Squad during a press conference, which could then set the stage for the Amanda Waller-centric show.
Along with the aforementioned DC titles, Davis has appeared in a number of television projects before. From 2014 to 2020, she starred as Annalise Keating in ABC's How to Get Away With Murder. She has also had roles in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, City of Angels and more. Davis also stars as Michelle Obama in Showtime's currently ongoing The First Lady series.
Gunn has confirmed that Peacemaker has been renewed for a second season. "Creating Peacemaker has been one of the true highlights of my life, both professionally and otherwise, with John Cena and the incredible creative team around me, as well as our partners at HBO Max," he previously said. "To have something we all love so much be loved by the audience in turn has been a wonderful experience. I can't wait for folks to see where Team Peacemaker goes in Season Two!" Gunn also previously teased that a second Suicide Squad spinoff series was in the works, though it's not immediately clear if that project is the Waller series.
Source: Variety