Who is Sean Gunn playing in Peacemaker Season 2? Character explored in depth

The teaser trailer for Peacemaker Season 2 was finally released on Friday, May 9, 2025. The teaser had wide implications for the wider DCU since it revealed that Guy Gardner and Hawkgirl are auditioning potential candidates for a superhero team. However, a small moment at the beginning of the 2:23 teaser trailer also offered the first look at Maxwell Lord, played by actor Sean Gunn.

Sean Gunn already has two roles in the DCU: Weasel and G.I. Robot. But it must be noted that both these roles are non-human characters, so even if live-action G.I. and Weasel were to appear on screen with Maxwell Lord, it wouldn't take the audience off the screen. Also, theories are floating across the internet that Lord in Peacemaker Season 2 is just biding his time to betray the heroes like he did in the comics.

Who is Peacemaker Season 2's Maxwell Lord?

Maxwell Lord was introduced in the DC pantheon in the 1980s as a trustworthy ally of the Justice League. However, after a few years, DC writers decided to throw in a twist. It was revealed that Lord, whom many believed to be a human, possessed the power to control the minds of others. But there is a side-effect to his psychic powers, which could accelerate his brain tumor, making him bleed from the nose.

His seminal moment came in Infinite Crisis (2005) when Maxwell Lord took over Superman's mind. Wonder Woman uses her Lasso of Truth on Lord to learn how to free Superman, and Maxwell reveals the only way to free Superman: It is to kill Maxwell Lord. Thus, to bring Superman back, Wonder Woman snaps Maxwell Lord's neck. This moment is the only major moment associated with this particular character.

Like in the case of most deaths in the comics, Lord returned to the pages, but the character isn't associated with a major DC event outside his death in Infinite Crisis. However, that hasn't stopped DC from including Maxwell Lord in several of its animated and live-action projects in the past. Lord has appeared in Smallville, Supergirl Season 1, and most importantly in Wonder Woman 1984, played by Pedro Pascal.

Now, we know that Sean Gunn will be portraying the character in the DCU, with Superman (2025) possibly marking his first appearance in the new universe, and Peacemaker Season 2 his second one. A few months ago, Sean Gunn, the actor who is playing Maxwell Lord, spoke about the role in an interview with YouTuber Kristian Harloff.

What did Peacemaker Season 2's Sean Gunn say?

In December 2024, Sean Gunn sat down for an interview with Kristian Harloff, in which the actor spoke about playing Maxwell Lord in James Gunn's DCU, but didn't reveal that he is appearing in Peacemaker Season 2. Sean Gunn teased how his version of Lord will be different from Pedro Pascal's interpretation:

"I can tell you that the one obvious thing is it's me playing the role. It doesn't just mean I'm going to give a different interpretation. Your own body is the vessel for what you're doing, so obviously...no one is gonna confuse me and Pedro Pascal's performance. So we're obviously going to do something different."

Furthermore, Sean Gunn also revealed that the DCU's version of Maxwell Lord would be comparatively more faithful to the character's roots than the one we met in 2020's Wonder Woman 1984. Sean said that James Gunn has been:

"Good about directing me towards the relevant source material. So, I think, the whole concept of the character takes a different type of tack. I saw the movie and Pedro is obviously a great actor, but what he does in that movie is not really relevant to anything that I'm doing."

This revelation is why some believe that the Maxwell Lord in Superman and Peacemaker Season 2 is just waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike at the good guys.

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