James Gunn Cut a Hitler Joke From Peacemaker Season 2 — Here’s Why

Peacemaker Season 2 has not been shy about its Nazi storyline, but James Gunn still ditched one gag he felt tipped from dark humor into straight-up goofy. On his official Peacemaker podcast, he explained why a Hitler mustache bit got axed late in the game.

The cut gag (and the very inside-baseball part)

Gunn says there was a sequence built around A.R.G.U.S. employees sporting tiny Hitler-style mustaches, meant to underline how obvious the Nazi vibes were in this alternate world. In the version they shot, Emilia Harcourt calls out Peacemaker for missing all the red flags — think 'you didnt notice copies of Mein Kampf on every desk?' and then pointing to guys standing by the copier with those embarrassing little mustaches. It was intentionally blunt. The problem? On camera it just read too silly for Gunn.

'The lame little mustaches looked too cartoony for me, so I cut it.'

Bonus behind-the-scenes detail: Jennifer Holland (Harcourt) said a bunch of background guys actually shaved into those mustaches and had to keep them for days while they shot. Brutal way to find out your scene didn’t make the cut.

Why this joke even existed

Quick context if you’re catching up: this season sends Chris Smith and the 11th Street Kids to an alternate reality run by Nazis. Classic Peacemaker twist — Chris initially misses the obvious and thinks it might be a decent place to live, only realizing what’s really going on at the end of Episode 6. So the mustache gag was part of Episode 7’s pile-on of Nazi tells. Even without it, Gunn says the episode still has plenty of Hitler references baked in.

Where the season stands

Peacemaker Season 2 premiered on HBO Max in August 2024. It’s a Gunn-created DCU show with John Cena back as Chris Smith/Peacemaker, and Jennifer Holland returning as Emilia Harcourt. The first seven episodes are streaming now, with the season finale set for October 9, 2025. Yes, that is a long rollout — welcome to Peacemaker time.