The last episode of the series Peacemaker, aired on February 18, brought a small surprise to fans with the appearance of 4 members in Justice League. Although it was just a fleeting cameo, this is the first time Justice League has reunited on screen since the “bomb” Justice League 2017 and the version of Zack Snyder 2021.
The question is why only 4 out of 6 members of this superhero group reappear in Peacemaker? And how does the absence of the other two affect the future of the DCEU?
Which members of the Justice League appeared in Peacemaker?
The Justice League is summoned to confront the alien butterflies (Butterflies) in the final episode of Peacemaker. However, they came too late, after Christopher Smith and his teammates had solved all the problems and destroyed nearly all of their opponents. Only 4 members of the Justice League appear in this segment, including The Flash, Aquaman, respectively still played by Ezra Miller and Jason Momoa; and Superman, Wonder Woman, appear hazily in the night mist and face invisible.
The most accurate explanation for this somewhat lacking Justice League lineup is probably related to the behind-the-scenes story. In this 2022, Warner Bros. will launch their own movie projects for both Flash (November 4) and Aquaman (December 16). So, most likely this is one of the options in their product promotion campaign. In addition, it is not excluded that the 3 projects Flash, Aquaman and Peacemaker were all recorded at the same time, at close locations. Therefore, director James Gunn temporarily “borrowed” two stars Miller and Momoa to serve the most interesting easter egg in his series.
Ezra Miller returns as Flash in Peacemaker.
Since Superman and Wonder Woman also appear, but their faces are not revealed, it is definitely not Henry Cavill and Gal Gadot. Instead, Brad Abramenko and Kimberley von Ilberg took on these two roles. Following the logic above, Superman and Wonder Woman both don’t have any major DCEU projects in 2022, so perhaps Warner Bros. I also don’t want to spend an extra amount of money to invite my two big stars to appear in such a brief cameo scene.
Brad Abramenko (left) and Kimberley von Ilberg played Superman and Wonder Woman in Peacemaker.
In addition, the future of Henry Cavill in the role of Superman is also quite uncertain. It has been reported that the actor will still stick with the role, but DC Films has not made any specific plans for him in the near future. Besides, Gal Gadot has confirmed to return in Wonder Woman 3, but it is expected that it will not be released until the end of 2023.
And now we come to the biggest question: Why don’t Batman and Cyborg appear with their teammates?
Why doesn’t Batman return in Peacemaker?
Batman’s absence is a rather surprising detail, because before that the character was one of the most talked about superheroes in the series. During a quarrel with a neighbor, Smith even criticized Batman’s principle of not killing people and constantly “kicked” him.
Prior to the release of Peacemaker, the DCEU’s timeline was inherently inconsistent and full of contradictions. In this cinematic universe, Batman doesn’t really follow the no-kill principle like in many comic book versions. So, the fact that Smith mentioned that detail left the audience confused, and could imply that the Peacemaker series takes place in a different timeline in the DC multiverse.
But most importantly, the DCEU will definitely have a new Batman in the near future, because after The Flash project, Ben Affleck will officially say goodbye to this role. Meanwhile, Michael Keaton has also confirmed to return as Batman, and Robert Pattinson will return to the Dark Knight on the big screen this coming March in The Batman, although this film is not part of the DCEU.
The fact that Batman does not appear with the Justice League may be a way to hide the identity of the new Batman in the DCEU. Or more simply, even DC Films doesn’t know who the current Batman in their cinematic universe is, and that’s a problem they will deal with in the future. For now, just lending James Gunn 4 members of the Justice League temporarily to serve the final episode of Peacemaker is monumental enough.
Why is Cyborg absent from Peacemaker?
The case of Cyborg, played by Ray Fisher, is perhaps a little easier to explain. Previously, the actor had posted a harsh criticism of the unprofessional working attitude of Joss Whedon and Warner Bros. During the production of Justice League 2017. Fisher also received support from many colleagues and fans around the world, greatly contributing to the completion of Zack Snyder’s cut and release on HBO Max. .
However, Warner Bros. immediately decided to remove Fisher’s name from his future projects. They insist the actor will never return to the role of Cyborg in any of the DC movies. Therefore, it is not excluded that they also excluded this character from the Justice League, making it impossible for Cyborg to appear with his teammates in the final episode of Peacemaker. If desired, the production team can completely apply the same masking method as Superman or Wonder Woman to Cyborg (and Batman). But they didn’t.
Recently, actor Matt Turner posted a picture of himself in a Batman costume on his personal Twitter with the status line: “After the super epic final episode of Peacemaker, I can finally upload 2 this picture. Sadly both I (and Cyborg) were cut from the official release. The reason why? Only James Gunn and Warner Bros. just know”.
Actor Matt Turner confirmed that the cameo segment of Batman and Cyborg was cut.
According to ScreenRant