The DC side of the superhero genre has been going through some major changes recently thanks to co-CEO James Gunn. The Guardians of the Galaxy filmmaker has crafted a new shared universe, and releasing projects both in theaters and streaming with a HBO Max subscription. Fans have endless questions about upcoming DC movies, including if Joel Kinnaman will ever return as Rick Flag Jr.. And now the 46 year-old actor has weighed in on that possibility.
Folks who have been watching the DC movies in order will recall that Flag was killed by John Cena's Peacemaker in The Suicide Squad. While Peacemaker Season 2 retconned the DCEU, Rick's death is still canon, and motivation for his father Rick Flags' vendetta against Chris Smith. During a conversation with ScreenRant, Kinnaman was asked if his appearance in Peacemaker was his final bow as his signature DC character, responding with:
Yeah, I would say so... An alternate universe, mealy-mouthed Rick, as me and James called him.
Womp womp. It sounds like Kinnaman isn't expecting to have yet another revival as Rick Flag Jr. in the newly formed DCU. His appearances in Peacemaker Season 2 definitely pleased longtime fans, and helped to tie-in events from both Suicide Squad movies. But we'll just have to see if his comments are accurate, or if we get more of him in Season 3 and/or a film project. With the multiverse already in play it feels like just about anything is possible.
The finale of Peacemaker Season 2 saw Frank Grillo's Rick Flag Sr. finally get his revenge, trapping Chris in the pocket universe Salvation, which will be used as a prison for metahumans in the DCU. Kinnaman's character is still a strong presence, so perhaps another flashback could happen if/when a third season ends up happening on HBO.
Joel Kinnaman's tenure as Rick Flag Jr. was definitely an interesting one, which involved multiple DC reboots. His death at the end of The Suicide Squad was a devastating twist, one that seemingly set up Peacemaker as a bonafide DC villain. And while John Cena's character is getting a redemption, Rick Flag Sr. is still very much reeling from grief over his son's murder. So even if the Altered Carbon actor doesn't return to the role, his character will presumably continue to have a presence moving forward.
The next DC movie hitting theaters is Supergirl on June 26th as part of the 2026 movie release list. Hopefully we'll get news about Peacemaker Season 3 sooner rather than later. Fingers crossed.
