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"I really like TV shows," James Gunn tells San Diego Comic Con, "Where the characters don't just return every season [as] the same exact characters. I want to see growth... or sometimes regression." 

The co-chair of DC Studios made this quote at the special Peacemaker season 2 panel presented by Warner Bros and HBO Max at one of this year's biggest Hall H panel. Joined by the cast of the upcoming DCU series, Gunn dished on the origins of Chris Smith's return to TV later this year. In particular, Gunn talked about how the titulat, helmet-sporting anti-hero would find himself in a world he didn't want to live in

But since this is superhero fiction, after all, one world isn't all there is...

"Peacemaker's are different guy this year," says the Superman director, "He's dealing with the demons he uncovered from the first season, and the world is not accepting him the way he is. They aren't accepting him as a hero. He's in love with Amelia Harcourt, and she isn't accepting him. He's not getting anything he wants until he discovers a parallel dimension with the Q.U.C., the Quantum Unfolding Chamber. He thinks it's the perfect universe, and that's the beginning of the story."

(In case you haven't been following, the Q.U.C. is a multidimensional travel device that appears in both Peacemaker season 1 and this summer's Gunn-directed Superman.)

Joining Gunn on the panel was none other than Peacemaker himself, John Cena, who showed up to Hall H rocking his character's full outfit. And as you might expect, Cena ws also happy to share where his character would be at the beginning of this season.

"I've said this before, I'll say it again," started Cena, "I think [Gunn's] ability to tell stories through a super circumstances, but make material we can all relate to, is important. Because when we watch these larger-than-life characters go through these journeys, we have to have something we want to root for. It's something we can get more enthusiastic about when it's a journey we can relate to."

"When I watch the [Peacemaker season 2] trailer," Cena continued, "What I see is someone who is going through a little bit of a rough patch in life and thinks the grass might be greener on the other side. That's a journey that a lot of us can relate to. I think people will enjoy that lane of the season because it hits home. We've all thought, 'Man, the grass might be greener on the other side.'"

You can say that again, John Cena.

Peacemaker season 2 comes to HBO Max August 21.

Enjoy our guides to how to watch the recent DCEU, the Arrowverse, and James Gunn's upcoming DCU.