James Gunn Opens Up About Pushback & Backlash on Shocking ‘Peacemaker’ Episode
James Gunn recently opened up about the strong reactions to the latest episode of Peacemaker Season 2, titled “Ignorance Is Chris.”
The episode, which aired on HBO Max, has sparked conversations for its bold storyline and a shocking reveal: Chris’s (John Cena) seemingly perfect universe is actually Earth-X, a reality where the Nazis won World War II.
In an interview with GQ, Gunn shared his thoughts on creating the episode and handling the sensitive subject matter.
“The show delights me. I really do whatever I want with ‘Peacemaker’—and I mean, in one respect, I do whatever I want with anything, because I am able to make my own choices and I’m my own boss. But with ‘Peacemaker,’ we really let it go. We take chances. We go to places where I think other people are afraid to go,” he said.
Gunn also admitted that pushing boundaries comes with its challenges. “We got a lot of pushback from various sources within the structure, on this episode in particular, and we’re like, ‘Let’s not be bashful about this. Let’s just do the story that we want to do, and I don’t want to have to pull punches with it,’” he explained.
“And it’s interesting because there hasn’t been that sort of… I have a few racists that have called me polarizing, but I’m okay with being polarizing and letting racists fall to the wayside. People have loved this episode the most, so it’s exciting.”
The episode deals with sensitive themes like racism, but Gunn emphasized that humor and thoughtfulness were balanced carefully. “Listen, we’re dealing with a very sensitive subject. We’re dealing with racism and at the same time, there’s humor in this episode. And so, you’re dealing with something very delicate and yet we’re not being delicate about it—but I don’t think we’re not being delicate in a non-thoughtful way,” he said.
He also noted the importance of discussing the episode with actress Danielle Brooks, who plays Adebayo, to make sure she was comfortable with how the story unfolded.
One of the most surprising elements of the episode is how it depicts the Earth-X universe. Gunn described how even viewers who watched the full season before release didn’t immediately notice the subtle cues, like the lack of people of color in the background.
“I think everybody online noticed what was happening, but also because they were discussing it. I showed the whole season to people before that and they did not notice at all. And it wasn’t all white friends, it was people of color, white people, everybody who just didn’t notice that all the extras were white every time we went to Earth X.”
“And so, it was about the stuff with that—Adebayo specifically, and what happens at the end, because you don’t want to treat it lightly and there’s a humorous aspect to it, but it’s also very scary. It was about the way we handled all that,” he shared.
The episode also features Adrian, known as Vigilante (Freddie Stroma), encountering his alternate self in Earth-X.
The new dimension version of Peacemaker is Vigilante’s enemy, a twist that sheds light on the origins of Vigilante’s motivations. Meanwhile, Adebayo experiences the dangers of this alternate world firsthand. While walking through Chris’s neighborhood, she is met with fear and hostility, highlighting the grim reality of Earth-X and setting up what could be an intense penultimate episode.
Gunn’s comments show how much care went into balancing the dark themes, action, and humor while keeping the story impactful. He emphasized the importance of telling the story without holding back, even if it made some viewers uncomfortable.
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