James Gunn clarifies what kind of future Maxwell Lord has in the DCU, and it’s not the one you expect

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The first episode of Peacemaker arrived, and with it, the reappearance of the Justice Gang and the man funding them, Maxwell Lord (Sean Gunn). Now, while plenty of laughs were had at the expense of Peacemaker (John Cena) not making the cut for the aforementioned super team, one fan recently asked DC Studios head and showrunner of the new series, James Gunn, if Lord will take a similar path to the one the character did in the comics.

Debuting in 1987, Maxwell Lord was initially an ally of the Justice League and a big influence on the Justice League International. Over time, though, he eventually became a villain, particularly for Wonder Woman, who killed Lord by snapping his neck in 2005 for killing Blue Beetle, Ted Kord. It was based on this that Gunn was asked if Lord would show a villainous streak further down the line, to which the Superman director gave an interesting answer.

“Max was retconned as a sort of muscular evildoer after originally being conceived by J. M. DeMatteis, as a multi-layered character who was morally gray,” explained Gunn. “Along with skinny Amanda Waller, it wasn’t one of my favorite comic reimaginings. Our Max is inspired by the original version. So don’t be waiting for him to shoot Blue Beetle in the face.”

Well, that’s reassuring then, particularly given that in a recent interview with IMDb, Gunn hinted at the idea of Blue Beetle potentially having a crossover with Peacemaker. Remaining cryptic, the head of the DCU teased, “Well, you know, I won’t say you’re not in luck.” Could this mean that Ted Kord, or perhaps Xolo Maridueña’s Jaime Reyes, will make his anticipated shift over to the DCU in the talked-about animated series? We can only hope. For now, though, check out our review of Peacemaker season 2 here.