Peacemaker hops dimensions in wild Season 2 trailer unveiled at SDCC 2025

San Diego Comic‑Con 2025’s Hall H crowd got a surprise when James Gunn and the cast of Peacemaker rolled out the first full trailer for the show’s second season. The nearly three‑minute clip is set to Ozzy Osbourne’s “Road to Nowhere,” a fitting needle drop given the rock legend’s passing earlier in the week. Gunn admitted that he had forgotten the song was in the cut until after the musician’s death, but he told fans the new season features his favorite soundtrack yet, filled with modern bands and tunes from the last 15 years. If the trailer is any indication, the music will have to work overtime to balance heart, humor and interdimensional chaos.

A Quantum leap into the DCU

Season 1 introduced the Quantum Unfolding Chamber (QUC) as a mysterious storage area in Chris Smith’s father’s home. In the SDCC trailer we finally see what the QUC can do: it’s a portal into the multiverse. The footage shows John Cena’s helmeted anti‑hero wrestling with his place in the world before stepping through the chamber and into a parallel Earth. Gunn clarified during the panel that Peacemaker Season 2 is set one month after the events of the Superman film, and is fully part of the new DC Universe rather than the old DCEU. While some fans theorized that the show would use the QUC to justify a jump between continuities, Gunn said that isn’t the case; most of Season 1 still counts, while some elements (like the infamous Aquaman joke) are treated as “vague memories”.

The sequence also hints that there are at least 100 universes in the DCU. In one of them, Peacemaker finds a version of his life where he’s a beloved hero and apparently in a relationship with Emilia Harcourt. Other glimpses suggest not every dimension is idyllic, including a hellscape littered with wreckage. Gunn likened the storyline to a high‑concept character study rather than an all‑out multiverse mash‑up, saying that Chris Smith will have to confront a single alternate reality and decide whether the “grass is greener”. The multiverse twist also provides a way for Peacemaker to face himself quite literally; the teaser ends with him meeting his own doppelgänger.

Rick Flag Sr. wants revenge

The trailer doesn’t forget the fallout from The Suicide Squad. Frank Grillo’s Rick Flag Sr., who became the head of ARGUS after appearing in Creature Commandos and Superman, is shown gearing up to hunt down the man who killed his son. The footage teases confrontations between the two across dimensions and hints that Chris’s guilt over Rick Flag Jr.’s death fuels his urge to escape his reality. When asked about the underlying themes, Gunn said Season 2 would force Peacemaker to confront his traumatic past and “take the future into his own hands”.

Familiar faces and a few new troublemakers

John Cena returns as the helmeted misfit, joined again by Danielle Brooks (Leota Adebayo), Freddie Stroma (Vigilante), Jennifer Holland (Emilia Harcourt), Steve Agee (John Economos) and Nhut Le (Judomaster). Robert Patrick’s racist supervillain Auggie Smith died last season but will continue to haunt his son as a ghost. Several Superman characters cross over: Isabela Merced’s Hawkgirl, Nathan Fillion’s Guy Gardner/Green Lantern and Sean Gunn’s Maxwell Lord all make appearances.

New faces include Frank Grillo as the vengeful Rick Flag Sr. and Tim Meadows as ARGUS agent Langston Fleury. Michael Rooker plays Red St. Wild, an expert hunter described by Gunn as “Eagly’s Lex Luthor”. Additional newcomers Sol Rodriguez, David Denman and others round out the eight‑episode season. Behind the camera, Gunn wrote all eight episodes and directs three of them, while Greg Mottola and Peter Sollett direct other installments.

Dance numbers, Ozzy and release details

One of the hallmarks of Peacemaker is its irreverent opening credits dance, and Season 2 will not disappoint. Cast members teased that choreographer Charissa Barton helped them craft a brand‑new routine that includes a lift inspired by Dirty Dancing. The trailer’s use of Ozzy Osbourne’s “Road to Nowhere” isn’t just for nostalgia; Gunn said the track is part of a soundtrack that is “the best [he’s] ever done,” filled with contemporary bands and songs. GamesRadar’s live‑blog from the panel noted that Gunn considers the new season’s soundtrack his favorite and that it leans heavily into music from the past decade.

HBO Max will drop the first episode on Thursday, August 21, 2025, at 9 p.m. ET/PT. The season consists of eight episodes. Judging by the SDCC trailer, fans can expect a blend of heartfelt character work, bloody action and meta‑humor as Peacemaker literally faces himself, tries to outrun his past and maybe learns that the best dimension is the one you make.