This article contains mild spoilers for Peacemaker season 2, episode 1.
Peacemaker is taking shots at Thirty Seconds To Mars.
The DC Studios show, which stars John Cena as the titular silver-helmeted vigilante, made multiple jokes at the expense of Jared Leto’s rock band in the premiere episode of its second season.
Written and directed by DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn, the episode sees Chris Smith (Cena) have a playfully crude conversation about music with his ex-colleague Emilia Harcourt (Jennifer Holland), who had just finished repeatedly punching her car’s dashboard in a bout of frustration.
“Last time I was in that car, it was playing Spin Doctors or Thirty Seconds to Mars or some s—,” Chris says. “I was gonna kick its ass then, but you two seem like you’re on good terms.”
Emilia responds, “I am not on good terms with Thirty Seconds to Mars — how dare you.”
Then, after the episode’s credits finish rolling, the ep lobs a few more jabs at the band in a post-credits scene using previously unseen footage from the same conversation.
“You can’t be looping Spin Doctors in with Thirty Seconds to Mars,” Emilia says. “Spin Doctors: so good!”
Chris shoots back, “Jeez, anyone’s better than Thirty Seconds to Mars. That garage band I was in for two seconds is better than Thirty Seconds to Mars.”
Leto founded Thirty Seconds to Mars in 1998 alongside his brother, Shannon. The Oscar winner is the lead vocalist and guitarist for the band, which has released six studio albums to date.
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Leto previously played the Joker in the 2016 DC film Suicide Squad. He later reprised the role in Zack Snyder’s Justice League in 2021. Both of those films take place in the previous DC continuity established by Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel.
A few characters from the 2016 Suicide Squad returned for its 2021 sequel, The Suicide Squad, which was written and directed by Gunn before he took charge of all of DC’s cinematic output.
Gunn opted to bring back Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), Amanda Waller (Viola Davis), Rick Flagg (Joel Kinnaman), and Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtney) for his sequel, which also introduced Cena as Peacemaker. He did not, however, include Leto’s Joker.
“Joker, no,” Gunn told The New York Times in 2021 when asked if he considered bringing Leto’s character into the fold. “I just don’t know why Joker would be in the Suicide Squad. He wouldn’t be helpful in that type of war situation.”
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Gunn has yet to announce who (if anyone) will be playing the Joker in the DCU, the new continuity established by this year’s Superman and the animated series Creature Commandos; however, there is precedent for actors from the previous DC universe to return for the new one, so it’s not impossible that Leto could be in the running to play the Clown Prince of Crime again.
One cast member from both Suicide Squads has carried over into Gunn’s rebooted DCU: Davis, who reprised her role as Amanda Waller on the animated series Creature Commandos last year.
Cena and the entire supporting cast of Peacemaker also made the leap from the previous DC universe, in which the first season technically took place, into the new DCU, which is the home of the second season (with some minor tweaking to retroactively make the first season canon to the new universe).
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It’s not immediately clear whether any other The Suicide Squad actors will return in the DCU. When asked if Robbie might reprise Harley Quinn in the new universe, Gunn told EW, “That will be revealed down the line.”
Gunn also said that he’s actively trying to find a spot in the DCU for Idris Elba’s Bloodsport, who was one of the primary characters in The Suicide Squad.
“I definitely am always looking for a place to put Bloodsport and figuring that out,” he told EW. “So we’ll see what happens.”
Leto was recently accused of sexual misconduct from nine women, some of whom say they were underage when they met him. “All of the allegations are expressly denied,” a representative for the actor told AirMail at the time.
Leto will next star in Disney’s Tron: Ares alongside Jeff Bridges, Greta Lee, Evan Peters, and Jodie Turner-Smith. The film hits theaters on Oct. 10.
