James Gunn's secret 'Peacemaker' spinoff series actually centers on Viola Davis' Amanda Waller

Ahead of the Peacemaker premiere on HBO Max earlier this year, news broke that writer-director James Gunn was developing a second television series inspired by The Suicide Squad. When pressed for more information, the filmmaker teased: "It is connected to this universe, and I don’t think it will be the same genre as Peacemaker, it won’t be as much a comedy as Peacemaker, but it will be in the same universe."

Thanks to Variety, we now know what the secret project is about, and it's probably not what any of us expected. If your money was on the fan favorite Vigilante (Freddie Stroma) getting his own show, then you better be ready to pay your bookie with plenty of interest. Gunn's second live-action DC effort for the small screen will actually be centered around the headstrong and calculating architect of Task Force X — Amanda Waller.

Oscar-winner Viola Davis is currently in talks to reprise the iconic role she originated in 2016's Suicide Squad (written and directed by David Ayer). The actress returned to the character for 2021's The Suicide Squad and a pair of brief appearances in Peacemaker, which introduced Waller's pure-hearted daughter, Leota Adebayo (played by Danielle Brooks).

"She has no qualms about doing that whatsoever. She’s just the sweetest person in the world and Waller is scary," Gunn said of Davis' performance during an interview with The New York Times last summer. "When she’s on set and that turn happens, I am literally afraid to come in and give her a note because of the look in her eyes. It is incredibly intimidating. She comes up to here [holds hand at height of his neck] on me. But it is. She’s amazing."

Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures/™ & © DC Comics

Davis is said to be on board as an executive producer on the Waller-focused series (confirmed to be a spinoff of Peacemaker) alongside Gunn and Peter Safran. Christal Henry, an alum of HBO's Watchmen limited series, will write and executive produce. 

Season 1 of Peacemaker ended with Adebayo exposing her mother's long-running program of recruiting super-villains to partake in black ops missions for the United States government by promising to slash time off their prison sentences. Whether any charges are brought against Waller is probably irrelevant. The woman is cunning enough to weasel her way out of any serious repercussions.

Still, we'd imagine Waller's show will explore the betrayal at the hands of her own flesh and blood. Maybe we'll also get to see the formation of a new Suicide Squad and a bit of insight into what turned Amanda Waller into a cold, unfeeling killer who likes to blow up heads. The foundation is certainly there for a gritty political thriller about the dangers of unchecked power with comic book metahumans thrown into the mix.

Peacemaker was renewed for a second season ahead of the eighth episode, which featured high-profile cameos from Justice League members Aquaman (Jason Momoa) and Barry Allen (Ezra Miller). The Suicide Squad and the entire first season of Peacemaker are currently streaming on HBO Max. 

Looking for more antihero action? The complete first season of NBC's The Endgame is now available on Peacock.