SPOILER WARNING! You might not want to read ahead if you haven’t seen the sixth episode of Season 2 of “Peacemaker”.
In a recent episode of Peacemaker: The Official Podcast with James Gunn, executive producer James Gunn provided exclusive insight into the surprising appearance of Lex Luthor, played by Nicholas Hoult, in Season 2, Episode 6. The scene, which sees Lex Luthor striking a scary deal with Rick Flag Sr., holds massive implications for the broader DCU narrative.
Filmed During the Superman Shoot
Remarkably, the Luthor scene was one of the first sequences shot for the episode and took place right in the middle of filming for Superman. Gunn confirmed they were shooting the scene concurrently with the Pentagon sequences for Superman.
Gunn noted that this unusual scheduling led to immediate tonal differences. Superman is characterized as “so big and brash,” while Peacemaker is “so strangely grounded and gritty”. This tonal shift extended to Nicholas Hoult’s performance, which felt a little darker. The Peacemaker setting allowed fans to see a version of Lex Luthor using “a very different kind of language”—meaning he was permitted to curse, unlike his portrayal in the Superman context where “no swearing [is] allowed”.
A Crucial DCU Deal
The scene itself, where Rick Flag Sr. (the head of A.R.G.U.S.) visits Luthor in Belle Reve Prison, is described as a “really important moment for not only Peacemaker but the entire DCU”.
Flag strikes a deal with Luthor: if Lex helps locate Peacemaker’s portal, Flag will facilitate his transfer from Belle Reve (a prison housing metahumans) to Van Kull (a prison with no metahumans). Both prisons are sourced from DC comics.
Gunn revealed that the scene, which uses the same Belle Reve set built on stage for The Suicide Squad, was originally slated for Episode 7. However, he moved it to Episode 6 to serve as a necessary dramatic buffer before the following heavy scene between Chris Smith and Emilia Harcourt. Flag agreeing to team up with Luthor suggests he “has some— He’s got an agenda”, making the situation scary for Peacemaker.
