James Gunn’s Peacemaker has had a wild couple of weeks. First, the show’s second season took a sharp left turn into an alternate universe where Nazis run the U.S. Then, Fortnite dropped the character, scrubbing him (and his dance emote) from the game over the weekend. But while Epic Games is closing the door, Goichi “Suda51” Suda is very much looking to kick one open.
During an interview at the Future Games Show, the Japanese game director was asked which DC Comics hero (or in this case, antihero) he’d want to adapt. His answer was… “Peacemaker. I’d like to see some new ways of murdering people that aren’t in the show and in the comics. That’s one of the things we’re good at Grasshopper Manufacture: finding ways to kill s*it and making it grotty and bloody and stuff. So, yeah, I’d like to see Peacemaker find some new, interesting ways of murdering people.” If you’ve ever played one of his games, you know he isn’t exaggerating.
Suda’s reputation for over-the-top violence and surreal humor is legendary. Titles like Killer7 (2005), No More Heroes (2007), and Shadows of the Damned (2011) aren’t exactly shy about painting the screen red. His studio, Grasshopper Manufacture, has built an entire identity around games that feel like grindhouse cinema turned interactive. It’s a formula that would slot surprisingly well into the unhinged world of Christopher Smith, aka Peacemaker, a man willing to achieve peace by blowing holes in pretty much anything.
This wouldn’t be the first time Suda teamed up with James Gunn, either. The two collaborated back in 2012 on Lollipop Chainsaw, where Gunn was brought on by Warner Bros. to punch up the game’s scenario and characters. The result was a cult hit about a cheerleader battling zombies with a chainsaw. And if that doesn’t prove their creative chemistry, nothing probably will. In fact, in a June 2024 Game Informer interview, Suda51 openly said he “would totally be down with doing another game with him [James Gunn] if the opportunity presented itself,” especially if it was tied to a DC license.
Now that Gunn sits atop DC Studios alongside Peter Safran, overseeing films, TV, and games, the timing couldn’t be better. While Gunn teased last month that there’s “one specific thing” he’s excited about in DC gaming, he admitted it’s still very early days. A Suda51-directed Peacemaker project isn’t in development, but they could be. Warner Bros. controls the license, Grasshopper has the interest, and Gunn has history with both sides. Stranger things have happened in this industry.
For now, Peacemaker fans have to settle for his Mortal Kombat 1 cameo, where he arrived as DLC early last year after being transported into the MK universe by Eclipso. But imagine a full-length Grasshopper Manufacture title where you guide John Cena’s helmeted vigilante through a grotesque murder spree in the name of “peace.” It’s not hard to picture the overblown boss fights, the fourth-wall-breaking dialogue, and the kind of absurd weaponry only Suda could dream up.
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