HBO Max's Peacemaker just confirmed that Christopher Smith is bisexual, and James Gunn has credited John Cena for making that decision about his character.
In an interview with Empire magazine, hitting newsstands on February 17, per SlashFilm, Peacemaker creator James Gunn revealed that the idea to turn the series' titular anti-hero into a bisexual character was one that developed naturally when John Cena stepped back into the role of the violent vigilante to lead his own solo series on HBO Max.
"Peacemaker is an interesting character because he's so f*****-up in so many ways, and then in other ways, he is kind of weirdly forward-thinking," Gunn explained. "John does improv all the time, and he just turned Christopher Smith into this hyper-sexualized dude that is open to anything sexually. I was surprised by that. But I thought, 'I guess it makes sense that this guy isn't one-dimensional.'"
Cena determined that Peacemaker would be bisexual by reflecting on the history of his character and the struggles that he faced throughout his bleak upbringing, which is when the realization hit that his past experiences would most likely have broadened his mind and made him "willing to do anything" to a certain extent.
"We see in the show that he doesn't have any issues with sexuality," Gunn said, acknowledging that the series dropped more than a few hints about Peacemaker's bisexuality before confirmation arrived in the penultimate episode. "As long as you're not f****** animals — that he's not into. But besides that, he's pretty open. And yet other things he's completely close-minded on."
Peacemaker's bisexuality was referenced in a line of dialogue from his father, the villainous White Dragon, in Episode 7, "Stop Dragon My Heart Around," which aired on February 10. IGN awarded the episode an 8 out of 10, noting how "the characters have grown individually and as a team, developing into a group that just might be capable of saving the world."
Adele Ankers-Range is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow her on Twitter.
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In an interview with Empire magazine, hitting newsstands on February 17, per SlashFilm, Peacemaker creator James Gunn revealed that the idea to turn the series' titular anti-hero into a bisexual character was one that developed naturally when John Cena stepped back into the role of the violent vigilante to lead his own solo series on HBO Max.
"Peacemaker is an interesting character because he's so f*****-up in so many ways, and then in other ways, he is kind of weirdly forward-thinking," Gunn explained. "John does improv all the time, and he just turned Christopher Smith into this hyper-sexualized dude that is open to anything sexually. I was surprised by that. But I thought, 'I guess it makes sense that this guy isn't one-dimensional.'"
Cena determined that Peacemaker would be bisexual by reflecting on the history of his character and the struggles that he faced throughout his bleak upbringing, which is when the realization hit that his past experiences would most likely have broadened his mind and made him "willing to do anything" to a certain extent.
"We see in the show that he doesn't have any issues with sexuality," Gunn said, acknowledging that the series dropped more than a few hints about Peacemaker's bisexuality before confirmation arrived in the penultimate episode. "As long as you're not f****** animals — that he's not into. But besides that, he's pretty open. And yet other things he's completely close-minded on."
Peacemaker's bisexuality was referenced in a line of dialogue from his father, the villainous White Dragon, in Episode 7, "Stop Dragon My Heart Around," which aired on February 10. IGN awarded the episode an 8 out of 10, noting how "the characters have grown individually and as a team, developing into a group that just might be capable of saving the world."
Adele Ankers-Range is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow her on Twitter.
Continue reading...