The John Cena led superhero series Peacemaker has recently premiered its second season on HBO Max. The exciting news for fans of The Walking Dead is that one of the series' fan-favorites joins the cast this season.
This season, Cena returns as the titular character, and The Walking Dead's Michael Rooker (Merle Dixon) joins the cast. This series wouldn't feel like a true Gunn creation without the inclusion of Rooker, who has appeared in all of Gunn's movies. Rooker, who appeared in Suicide Squad and Creature Commandos, portrays Red St. Wild, and according to Gunn, is a nemesis to Peacemaker's sidekick, Eagly: "His name is Red St. Wild, and he's the world's foremost eagle hunter who is on a mission to kill Eagly."
Rooker is in good company as two other TWD alums appear in the series. Robert Patrick returns as August "Auggie" Smith/Blue Dragon. He appeared in one of the bonus episodes of TWD's season 10. Meanwhile, Elizabeth Ludlow, who portrayed Arat, a member of the Saviors in TWD, portrays Keeya Adebayo in the DC series.
Peacemaker was created for HBO Max by James Gunn, who is well known for creating the Guardians of the Galaxy series of films. Based on the characters featured in DC Comics, Peacemaker's first season was a spinoff of the 2021 film The Suicide Squad, and the second season is the first live-action series in the DC Universe.
The eight-part second season of Peacemaker premiered on HBO Max on August 21, and the season finale will air on October 9.
Rooker first made a name for himself for his performance in the controversial film Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer that was released in 1990. His chilling performance in this film has led to him being cast as numerous brutes, villains and psychopaths.
Other notable roles for the actor include Mississippi Burning (1988), Sea of Love (1989), JFK (1991), Tombstone (1993), and Jumper (2008). He is well-loved for his role as Yondu, the blue-skinned renegade space pirate and surrogate father to Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) in Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy movies.
During season 1 of The Walking Dead, Rooker was introduced as Merle, the oldest of the Dixon Brothers. A character viewers loved to hate would redeem himself before his death in season 3.
Some of his most recent credits include The Righteous Gemstones, Creature Commandos, Kevin Costner's Horizon: An American Saga, and The Out-Laws. The actor has several upcoming roles, including Pig Village, a film directed by Lee Sang-yong that also stars TWD alum Alex Meraz.