- 6 months ago
Join John Cena as he relives some of the biggest moments from Peacemaker: Season 1. From the death of Rick Flag to the underpants dance, Peacemaker himself breaks down some iconic moments from the first season.----------Director: Sam BalabanDirector of Photography: Jack BelisleEditor: Louville MooreTalent: John CenaProducer: Camille RamosLine Producer: Jen SantosProduction Manager: James PiptioneProduction Coordinator: Elizabeth HymesTalent Booker: Lauren MendozaCamera Operator: Lucas YoungGaffer: Mar AlfonsoSound Mixer: Rachel SuffianProduction Assistant: Karla TorresPost Production Supervisor: Jess DunnSupervising Editor: Rob LombardiAssistant Editor: Andy Morell
Category
🛠️
LifestyleTranscript
00:00Hey, I'm John Cena, and these are the biggest moments in the journey of Peacemaker.
00:09This is Christopher Smith, known as Peacemaker.
00:11His father was a soldier who trained his son how to kill from the moment he was born.
00:15I think, and I kind of view this to every opportunity I'm fortunate enough to get,
00:21I try to read the story as much as I can, and that doesn't mean the comic books,
00:25that means the script in front of me.
00:26I try to come up with my own ideas and know my lines.
00:28Be coachable. Be as coachable as you can.
00:31There's a saying in WWE that was just reintroduced to me and really bears a lot of weight,
00:38that every superstar needs to be produced.
00:41So you can have your own idea, but sometimes you're too close to the material,
00:46and we are characters in a larger scope.
00:48Sometimes a person with a larger scope can offer very good and meaningful advice.
00:53In this case, I did a ton of homework, developed all these character choices,
00:57ideas, how this person would act, how they would stand.
01:00You saw a little bit of it in the prison, and it was course-corrected immediately by James Gunn,
01:07and he was like, hey, we filmed a scene on the beach,
01:10and it is me going back and forth with Idris Elba,
01:13and I was going in the direction of me being prepared, and these are my ideas.
01:17And James stopped production, came all the way down this artificially made beach,
01:22and said, don't do any of that stuff, please, just be a douchey bro-y Captain America.
01:26Don't they have blockades at the city limits?
01:28That's the word.
01:29How are we getting in? Especially with Charlie the Tuna here.
01:32How the hell am I supposed to know?
01:34You're the leader. You're supposed to be decisive.
01:36That's a moment where being coachable helps, because if I'm too tied to my decisions,
01:40and I'm too tied to what I believe this character is,
01:43then we're going to have a confrontation and just end up wasting time.
01:45But if I'm prepared, and I know my lines, and someone gives me a different direction,
01:49I can see the vision of what he was talking about.
01:51Douchey bro-y Captain America.
01:53Okay, I painted that picture in my head. Let's try this.
01:55And that's when we began to make Peacemaker music.
01:58To know that Peacemaker is willing to kill for peace is important, because he does.
02:18And he kills a person who he looks up to, and who he's developed a friendship with.
02:22What we know about Chris Smith through the film is he doesn't have many friends.
02:25And when he falls in with this ragtag group of people, there's a scene at the cantina
02:31where everyone is having drinks and sharing and getting along.
02:34And you can see him leaning into having friends for the first time.
02:38We don't know any of the backstory from season one.
02:40We don't know about how he's brought up.
02:42We don't know about his brother. We don't know any of that stuff.
02:44You can give a note about this guy's kind of a social outcast, and that can stick.
02:49He's found somebody in lockstep, like Rick Flagg, where he admires this person.
02:53It's everything he wants to be.
02:54Who are you going to show that to?
02:56Chris, people deserve no.
02:57I can't let you do that, Colonel.
02:58Miss Waller charged me with making sure those records don't leave this building.
03:01And then when Flagg gets a different perspective on what truth is and what virtue is,
03:07Peacemaker does what he usually does, and that's just kill for peace.
03:10And this is the first time you probably see that armor wear thin.
03:13The chemistry with me and Idris was very fun.
03:30It actually led to another movie, Heads of State.
03:32It actually led one of the producers of Peacemaker to be like,
03:35you guys should do this again in another movie form, and we'll, we'd like to do it.
03:39And people were like, yeah, I'd like to see that again.
03:41It was extra fun, and this is the storytelling of James Gunn,
03:44and Bloodsport tells me how he's going to kill me in such a,
03:48I shoot bullets through smaller bullets and then hit the bullseye.
03:50Like, and he does it at the end.
03:59The character's demise is predicted and then executed in beautiful visual fashion.
04:05You think because, you know, he got shot in the carotid and a building falls on him
04:11that he's, that's the end of Peacemaker.
04:13Lo and behold, that's not true.
04:20The opening dance sequence was almost filmed at the end,
04:30but was always in the script.
04:32And the script you get way, especially with James,
04:34it's not like you're handed a script the day you shoot.
04:37You get it months in advance.
04:38The opening dance sequence is written out completely descriptively of like,
04:43everyone giving it all they have with emotionless faces,
04:46doing these crazy dance moves, eagerly swipes in at the end.
04:48He lifts up judo master, like everything is written out in stage direction for every episode.
05:07We got really talented and funny people.
05:09Steve Agee's incredible.
05:11Freddie Stroman's extremely funny.
05:12Best dancer, Jen Holland is good.
05:15Very good.
05:16Danielle Brooks, also very good.
05:18I think they're tied for first.
05:19No, Freddie Stroman.
05:20I think it's a three-way tie.
05:22Freddie Stroman.
05:22I think John Economo, Steve Agee, and myself are the worst.
05:25Like, it's an eclectic cast.
05:26Danielle's very outgoing and very boisterous.
05:29And Steve's sense of humor is dark.
05:31A lot of it lines with mine.
05:33I think Freddie Stroman is like, he's a chameleon.
05:35He can fit in any room.
05:37And Jen's true dedication to Harcourt and standoffishness,
05:40it's not who Jen is.
05:41But her kind of being in character allowed her to develop her own, like, stoic sense of humor.
05:46This is Harcourt, who you may know from Wallace's team at Belle Reve.
05:50She'll be a handler in the field.
05:52It's this serious interrogation.
05:54But like I said, you have Economos eating four-year-old olives because Peacemaker's been in jail.
05:58It shows a very human side to what normally would be a very dramatic scene.
06:03John Economos, who you may also know as Tech and Tactics.
06:06Hey, dude, you're eating four-year-old olives out of my fridge.
06:10Peacemaker's trailer or mobile home is such a shit pit,
06:13and he has, like, such weird stuff all over the place.
06:16It's a very humanizing look at this superhero universe.
06:22Hey, Dad.
06:23I think once you meet Peacemaker's father,
06:30you kind of get a deeper feel of why he is the way he is.
06:33There's certainly a lot of trauma there,
06:34and there's, like, no one talks about anything.
06:37It is a culture of, like, strength through silence,
06:40which is never, never good.
06:42You can tell that there's a whole lot of tension,
06:45and I think whatever is going through the mind of Robert Patrick's character,
06:48Augie, and who's going through Christopher Smith's mind,
06:50I think Christopher Smith just wants to do good with his life
06:53and really wants a I'm-proud-of-he-son from his dad,
06:56and his dad really wishes that Keith didn't die.
06:59And although his dad was a vehicle to put them in jeopardy,
07:03he certainly blames the tragedy heavily on the shoulders of Chris,
07:06and it is such a dysfunctional family.
07:09Augie's perspective of life is a bit extreme,
07:14and there's that as well.
07:17Crazy coincidence, right?
07:19Oh, yeah, yeah, uncanny, right?
07:23Peacemaker is really trying to connect with Harcourt and gets shut down,
07:28but then finds someone to give him connection and physical gratification.
07:33He's been having a tough go of it.
07:35He's now this member of a, or considered to be this member of a black ops team,
07:40and as he's going through the dossier,
07:41meets this person who they connect with,
07:43and he doesn't realize it,
07:45but she's really trying to stop him and find the information.
07:48But they share coitus first, and that's fun,
07:50and he's really happy that he's, like, everything's coming up Peacemaker.
07:55So he puts on his favorite tune and dances.
07:57Went to see her just this morning
08:01to see how the child might live.
08:10Just sat there smoking on my cigarets.
08:17There's even, like, a short monologue at the beginning of, like,
08:20man, I think it's starting to turn around,
08:22and he's just doing that victory dance.
08:24Just the uniform's questionable, but that's Peacemaker.
08:27First impressions lead to our snap judgments.
08:37You see a big physical specimen,
08:39especially there's no hiding the bias.
08:42I may or may not have seen this guy kick ass
08:44on a global program for the last 25 years,
08:46and then he gets his ass handed to him.
08:49She's so good at what she does,
08:52but I thought it was, like, the perfect foil
08:54to establish that, like, Peacemaker's in way over his head.
08:57It's a really incredible way
08:59to kind of start the action of the series.
09:04You sure your head is in this?
09:05What?
09:05You choked last night.
09:06Are you kidding me?
09:07Maybe that wouldn't have happened
09:08if you put a goddamn dove of peace
09:10on the sniper rifle.
09:12One of the most important things
09:14about killing someone to me
09:15is a f***ing dove of peace on the weapon.
09:18That's bullshit, and you know it.
09:19This is Peacemaker's first chance
09:21to kind of get back on the horse
09:22after the Rick Flagg drama,
09:23and you can see he's not over it.
09:25This hard-nosed killer
09:27who talks amongst his peers
09:29like the biggest badass,
09:30when he's hit with the moment of truth
09:32to do things that he wouldn't even think twice about,
09:36he starts to question
09:37if what he's doing is right.
09:39This is where you want to root
09:41for the flawed character,
09:42and I think that's what's important
09:43about all the characters in Peacemaker.
09:45They all have their setbacks and flaws,
09:47but you all want to root for them
09:49because they're all trying to do better.
09:56What are you doing?
09:57If I keep changing my facial expressions,
10:00he won't be able to recognize me in a lineup.
10:03That whole torture chamber scene was awesome.
10:05We got a few days in there,
10:06and filming that was very, very fun.
10:09I think that's what makes
10:10the Peacemaker group real special.
10:12No one's afraid to look a certain way.
10:14They just put themselves out there,
10:16and again, we all have trust in James
10:18that we're going to be okay,
10:20and I think you get great moments like that.
10:25David versus Goliath story,
10:31but not a true one
10:32because David kicks ass,
10:34and I think Peacemaker is heavily outgunned here
10:36and kind of gets lucky in winning the fight,
10:38and it kind of also shows the impurity of his badassery.
10:42It's kind of like the winners write the history books.
10:44I love this scene because it shows
10:46how badass Judo Master is.
10:48Dude, I didn't mean to put your father in prison.
10:53Then why'd you put him there, you fat f***?
10:55Because I couldn't think of anybody else.
10:57What about Ariana Grande or Drake?
10:59What?
11:00Brad Pitt or Payton Stewart or Doug the Pug,
11:03Khloe Kardashian,
11:04the Red Tiger from Voltron.
11:07Again, that was like a total riff.
11:08It started out as a written joke with like three names
11:11and kind of riffing on each name,
11:13and then we did one take where it was like,
11:14I'm just going to name as many people as I can
11:17until I forget names,
11:18but it was great because when I stopped,
11:20James would yell out names from the back,
11:23and then when he got exhausted,
11:24Economos, who I'm talking to,
11:26but he's off camera because the camera's facing me,
11:28he gives me his names
11:29so that we get this long litany of names
11:32that they can weave together,
11:33and I'm so glad that they included it
11:34and then included a bonus run of it
11:37after the credits.
11:41Do you have a coterie of superheroes?
11:43No.
11:44Any more questions?
11:48Yeah.
11:49Gender swap to Alfred E. Newman.
11:51So Peacemaker came in to talk about
11:53like how awesome he is for career day,
11:55and it is a universe where people
11:57kind of know about Peacemaker,
11:59and he's saying like his accomplishments,
12:02and there are some snarky kids
12:03that are like,
12:04you didn't really do that,
12:04or like you had help from so-and-so,
12:06or kind of ripping him down to size.
12:08And keep in mind,
12:09this is a different time
12:10when we were all COVID protected to the max.
12:12There's a lot of WWE fans in the group,
12:14so to like see this guy show up,
12:17it was pretty fun.
12:18It was fun.
12:19And I can only imagine what it must be like
12:21as a young person during that time.
12:23It was very stressful as an adult during that time.
12:26James casts beautifully,
12:27and the fact that Peacemaker is trying to jab
12:29with these kids.
12:32It's so immature,
12:34and it just shows that like,
12:36this guy really needs a win.
12:39He is desperate enough
12:40to go to an elementary school class
12:43and showcase himself
12:44with a full sidearm
12:46and all his accoutrements
12:47that are responsible for murder and death,
12:50and he'll go there
12:51and talk about how cool he is,
12:52only to be cut down as a peg
12:54by these students.
12:56Yeah, Rubik's Cube,
12:57world champion, 2025.
12:58Why is your pet's name so unoriginal?
13:01Why are you my least favorite kid in this class?
13:03Because I can see right through you,
13:06and I think you're a loser.
13:09Written beautifully and like on the square.
13:12Again, that's where you begin to see
13:15that like Chris Smith is contemplating,
13:18am I doing it right?
13:19I know James,
13:20and he f***ing hates that joke.
13:22I don't mind it.
13:24I don't mind it,
13:24so in my mind,
13:25just to piss him off,
13:27yes, that's absolutely what James Gunn meant.
13:30He meant,
13:31you can't see me.
13:33He is throwing shit at his computer right now.
13:40Shit!
13:41Stop, Pearl!
13:42Ah!
13:43Ah!
13:43Ah!
13:44Ah!
13:45Ah!
13:45Ah!
13:45Ah!
13:46Ah!
13:46Ah!
13:46Ah!
13:46Ah!
13:46Ah!
13:47Ah!
13:47Ah!
13:47Ah!
13:47Ah!
13:47Ah!
13:48Ah!
13:48Ah!
13:48Ah!
13:48Ah!
13:50There are many iterations of Eagly.
13:52One is a gray bowling pin for visual effects purposes.
13:56It is about as tall as Eagly,
13:58but like a few inches short.
14:00There is a visual effects stuffed eagle,
14:02a gray bowling pin.
14:04I hate to ruin that for you because I love the scene.
14:06So I'm hugging a beautiful bald eagle who hugs me back.
14:09The one used for the garage hug was the gray bowling pin.
14:12And then the payoff of another Eagly hug later on is really cool.
14:15And it's finally witnessed and the power of it,
14:19that is very important.
14:24This guy's best friend is an animal.
14:26It shows his inability to connect with people on a human level.
14:30Once you peel back the layers of the onion,
14:32the environment he was raised in,
14:33the pressure he puts on himself,
14:35he's absent from his dad,
14:36all the relationships in his life,
14:38his chosen profession,
14:39how he chooses to constantly defend his father.
14:42So hopefully one day he gets an attaboy by alienating everybody else.
14:45All that stuff can tell you that like,
14:47oh, this eagle is his best friend.
14:49And even the eagle's like a snarky kind of piece of shit to Peacemaker.
14:53So like, it's, I don't know, man, it says a lot.
14:56Like this guy, this guy's got a lot, a lot in his backpack.
15:00Well, go ahead and do it, you pussy.
15:06I knew you couldn't do it because I control you.
15:11Whether or not I kill you,
15:13you'll never be able to get the away.
15:16The first time Peacemaker gets the courage to essentially take a life,
15:23which is something he did as we know his backstory on an absolute regular basis.
15:27The first time he gains the courage to, to make that step is his father.
15:33We're all human.
15:34So the days where you have nothing left to give, it is tough to give.
15:38But the days where you're fully present and there and aware, you can, man,
15:42I'll see a commercial or something.
15:46Like I'm, I have emotional availability when, when I'm, I have the strength to be present.
15:52So that was a very important day and we all have our process,
15:56but I was well rested going in.
15:58I knew there would be a ton of action.
16:00So not only is it just you, you get ready to be emotionally available,
16:03but you, you got to kick ass and get your ass kicked a little bit.
16:06Then you're emotionally available.
16:07So it would be like prepping for a game.
16:09You got to have enough to get through the game, you know?
16:14Activate human torpedo.
16:21Where the team sort of annies up and goes to work
16:24and they agree to like save the world.
16:26It's also kind of quasi cloudy because it's one person's interpretation of like what's right.
16:31And the butterflies kind of want to re-correct the path that society's been on.
16:35But who are they to be the, the people who say what's virtuous and not?
16:40I think allowing people the space to, to grow as individuals is kind of the through line there.
16:46That's again, my take, I don't want to tell anybody how to feel.
16:49You finally see what the 11th Street kids can do and they're badass.
16:55Every member has their moment.
16:57They take on this whole army of butterflies and just lay waste to everybody
17:02and do so without the major players of the DCU.
17:06And they step up and change the narrative.
17:09They're no longer the Bad News Bears.
17:10They are the team that saves the world.
17:12Do you really want to, do you really want to taste it?
17:24That field scene was awesome because like all of us kick ass and simultaneously.
17:31So everyone's training for fight choreography.
17:33A lot of the choreography is like intertwined.
17:35Steve will come in and do something and Danielle will do something.
17:38And then, you know, Freddie will do something.
17:39And then Jen and I interact and then, then I go off alone.
17:42But like a lot of that stunt choreography is all of us kicking ass together, which is pretty cool.
17:50Let's go off of what we know and what we've seen.
17:53I think the best way for people to be ready for season two is watch season one,
17:58just because it has been such a long time.
18:00It came out in 21 or 22 and now it's 25.
18:02So do yourself a favor and catch up because I think the more of the nuance you can get
18:06and the more moments like these you can relive, the better you're prepped.
18:10I think if you watch season one and the trailer, you'll get all the tools you need to be prepped
18:17and ready for season two.
18:18And I know that's asking a lot, but hey, you're the one who wants to know what's going on.
18:22You'll begin to piece your own puzzle together.
18:24You may be missing the middle in one corner, but you'll get a lot of the puzzle.
18:26You'll begin to piece some things.
18:28Give me a lot of these pens.
18:42ónote
Comments