'Peacemaker' Season 2: Steve Agee says last three episodes feel like a 'whole new season'
Steve Agee’s path to becoming a central figure in the DC Universe began with an unexpected Sunday night gathering in 2008. At the time, James Gunn had just one feature film under his belt and was co-hosting VH1’s Scream Queens. Invited by a friend, Agee attended a dinner hosted by Gunn’s brother, Sean Gunn, where he quickly connected with James and longtime collaborators Michael Rooker and Nathan Fillion. That night marked the start of a creative friendship that would reshape Agee’s career.
Steve Agee reveals the last stretch of Peacemaker season 2 plays out like an entirely new season of the DC series.
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Agee’s versatility as an actor, comedian, musician, and writer made him a natural fit within Gunn’s circle. Within a few years, he appeared in Gunn’s second feature, Super, and went on to secure roles in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Brightburn, and The Suicide Squad. His involvement in The Suicide Squad became a turning point, as it led directly to his breakout role in Gunn’s HBO Max series Peacemaker.
The offer to reprise his role as ARGUS agent John Economos for Peacemaker came in late 2020, following one of the most difficult years of Agee’s life. His mother had been diagnosed with leukemia early that year, and he spent months by her side until her passing. With no permanent home after giving up his apartment before filming The Suicide Squad, he relied on friends until Gunn presented him with the life-changing news of Peacemaker.
Initially, Agee never expected Economos to become a significant character. During The Suicide Squad, Economos was little more than a background presence, and Agee assumed his future in DC films would more likely come through his performance capture work as King Shark. However, Gunn transformed Economos into a fully realized character across Peacemaker season one, giving Agee some of his most powerful on-screen moments, including the emotional monologue about dyeing his beard.
Eight months after Peacemaker debuted, Gunn was offered the role of co-CEO at DC Studios. Agee was one of the few confidants Gunn trusted with the news before it became public in October 2022. He recalls Gunn’s hesitation to reveal the opportunity and his own encouragement for Gunn to take the position that would eventually shape the future of DC storytelling.
With Peacemaker season two now underway, Agee returns as Economos alongside John Cena’s Christopher Smith, Jennifer Holland’s Emilia Harcourt, Danielle Brooks’ Leota Adebayo, and Freddie Stroma’s Vigilante. The new season opens with the team fractured, as Economos finds himself back under ARGUS command, secretly monitoring Peacemaker. The storyline introduces the Quantum Unfolding Chamber, a powerful device that creates portals to alternate dimensions, including one that offers Peacemaker a vision of his idealized family life.
ARGUS’ surveillance stems from concerns over multiversal instability following a dimensional rift caused by Superman’s Lex Luthor. As the season unfolds, deeper themes emerge, particularly the question of whether the grass is greener on the other side.
Agee hints that the season’s final episodes deliver a dramatic shift in tone and scale. “The last three episodes are almost like a whole new season,” he explains. “They are absolutely insane, and they really cross into that actual question even more so.”
