James Gunn Called Elizabeth Banks To “A–hole Check” Peacemaker Star

Peacemaker director James Gunn admitted to calling Elizabeth Banks up to check if Freddie Stroma, who plays Vigilante, was an “a**hole.” Stroma landed the role of Adrian Chase, aka Vigilante, in May of 2021, replacing Chris Conrad mid-filming. The British actor has taken part in some of the biggest film and TV franchises, including Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, and Netflix’s Bridgerton. Vigilante has appeared in all four of the series’ episodes so far.

The first DCEU television series, Peacemaker, debuted its first three episodes on January 13, with episode 4, “The Choad Less Traveled,” dropping on January 20. Peacemaker‘s latest episode revealed that the titular antihero, played by the talented John Cena, had a brother that died, with Peacemaker claiming that he was involved in his own brother’s death. Episode 4 closed on a montage of the main character remembering what happened in his youth, reminding him of when his brother fell and died in front of him.

Now, Gunn, who is a regular on Twitter, tweets out a thank you to actor and director Banks for her recommendation of Stroma. Gunn writes that he reached out to Banks, who worked with the Peacemaker actor on Pitch Perfect, to do an “a**hole check,” as he does not work with negative people. She eventually told him that Stroma was a “great” guy, which Gunn says proved to be the right call. Check out the tweet below:

Gunn and Banks worked together in the 2019 superhero horror film Brightburn, with Gunn producing the film and Banks playing the role of the adoptive mother, Tori Breyer. Thanks to her recommendation, Stroma’s Vigilante has been well-received, and the the show’s overall reception has been strong as well. Peacemaker is the best-reviewed entry in the DCEU, getting a 94% on Rotten Tomatoes. This means that the show has beaten 2017’s Wonder Woman (which received 93%) as well as Gunn’s previous project The Suicide Squad, which received an exceptional 90%. Peacemaker is not the highest-rated DC series, however, with Doom Patrol and Watchmen still beating out Gunn’s latest project.

Gunn has recently revealed that he is extremely interested in making Peacemaker season 2 if all goes to plan. Despite this, he has also said that he would want to take a break after Guardians of the Galaxy 3, with people speculating that he could also do a Brightburn sequel. Whatever the future holds for Gunn and his projects, it is safe to say that Peacemaker has so far been a success.

Source: James Gunn