Entertainment NOW

2 • February 13 - 19, 2022 Entertainment Now By Kyla Brewer TV Media L ooks can be deceiving. Upon first glance, TV's latest superpower has all the hall- marks of a hero: a chiseled jaw, bulging muscles, a fancy suit and even a sidekick. Yet on the in- side, he's a bit of a hot mess — though that's exactly why audi- ences seem to relate to him. John Cena ("Bumblebee," 2018) stars as Chris Smith, aka Peacemaker, in the season finale of "Peacemaker," airing Thurs- day, Feb. 17, on HBO Max. The series is a spinoff of the hit 2021 action flick "The Suicide Squad," in which Cena was first seen as the titular character. Peacemaker believes in peace at any cost, even if it means killing people to get it. The show picks up months af- ter the movie left off. Peacemaker has recovered from the injuries he sustained in the film only to be pulled back into a life of conflict when he's recruited to a mysteri- ous black-ops squad by intel- ligence officer Amanda Waller (Viola Davis, "How to Get Away with Murder"), head of Task Force X, aka the Suicide Squad. Given a choice between returning to jail or tackling an alien threat in a mission known as Project Butterfly, Peacemaker reluctantly agrees to the mission. While traditional superheroes would jump at the chance to save the world, Peacemaker is less than enthusiastic. In a January interview with Fandom.com's Eric Goldman, Cena explained what his character is going through. "Peacemaker is a dude who has had a series of events, which has made him question his entire life," Cena said. "And I think that's very relevant to a lot of us." Creator and director James Gunn ("Guardians of the Gal- axy," 2014) obviously agrees. He was reportedly inspired by Cena's portrayal of Peace- maker while filming "The Suicide Squad" and wrote the spinoff during the 2020 COVID-19 lock- down. It was ordered straight to series by HBO Max in September 2020 and filmed in Vancouver between January and July 2021. Gunn has brought his trade- mark tongue-in-cheek vibe to the new series, as evidenced from the very beginning in the goofy opening credits dance scene. It immediately tells view- ers the show is not taking itself too seriously as the characters show off their moves to Wig Wam's "Do Ya Wanna Taste It." As each of the main cast mem- bers joins the fun, viewers meet the characters who bring the story to life. First up after Cena is Danielle Brooks ("Orange Is the New Black"), who plays Leota Ade- bayo, a new member of the Proj- ect Butterfly team who happens to be Waller's daughter. Although she and Peacemaker have very different views, they quickly strike up a genuine friendship. Unlike many of the others in the series, her character does not exist in the original comics. Freddie Stroma ("Harry Pot- ter and the Half-Blood Prince," 2009) is the next to show off his moves as the crime-fighter Vigilante, aka Adrian Chase. Un- like other iterations of the comic book character, "Peacemaker's" Vigilante is more sociopath than hero, albeit one who looks up to the title character. Stroma, a late addition to the cast after actor Chris Conrad ("Young Hercules") dropped out of the role, had to reshoot five and a half episodes' worth of Vigilante scenes upon his arrival. Cover Story Danielle Brooks and Jennifer Holland star in "Peacemaker" Power up: 'Peacemaker' wraps up first season Ready Rental 3 x 4 Hayley Siefert 3 x 2 Letters & Numbers Sudoku Fill in the grid so that every row,every column, and every 4x4 box contains the digits 1 through 9 AND the letters A-F. Solution on page 12.

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