Peacemaker is about to have a vigilante problem.
Deadline is reporting that Peacemaker, the upcoming HBO Max series spinning off from the upcoming film The Suicide Squad, has cast Chris Conrad as Adrian Chase, better known to DC Comics fans as The Vigilante.
Peacemaker will explore the origins of the character in the James Gunn movie, a man who believes in peace at any cost — no matter how many people he has to kill to get it.
Conrad is probably best known as Johnny Cage in the movie Mortal Kombat: Annihilation and as Young Jason in the TV series Young Hercules and Hercules: The Legendary Journeys. He's also appeared in the movie The Next Karate Kid and in episodes of Patriot, Life, Criminal Minds, Bones, and JAG.
According to the article, Conrad joins John Cena as Peacemaker/Christopher Smith, Steve Agee as John Economos, Jennifer Holland as Emilia Harcourt, Robert Patrick as Auggie Smith, and Danielle Brooks as Leota Adebayo.
Created in 1983 by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez, Adrian Chase first appeared in New Teen Titans (vol.1) Annual #2 as a Manhattan District Attorney who worked tirelessly within the system to dismantle the city's Mafia infrastructure. He frequently worked with the city's resident superhero team, the New Teen Titans, but when Chase's wife Doris, son Adam, and daughter Drew were killed by a bomb planted by the Scarapelli mob family, Chase sought his own justice as the Vigilante.
He underwent an extremely vigorous training program taught by a number of mystical spirits seeking revenge, and came back to the city perfectly synchronized between mind and body. As the Vigilante, he dispensed justice harshly, and although he inspired many heroes to attempt to make tougher choices, his career was also riddled with many defeats. Eventually Chase abandoned his identity as Vigilante, believing that he could be both more effective and also happier as a judge. However, during his absence the identity of Vigilante was assumed, in succession, by two of his friends without his knowledge.
The first of these was fellow judge Alan Welles, who operated in a much more violent manner, even executing petty thieves. Chase eventually tracked down and killed this incarnation of Vigilante, without realizing it was his friend. The incident led to increased guilt on Chase's part and also increased scrutiny from a law enforcement task force headed by Harry Stein, as he attempted to cover up Alan Welles' role as Vigilante.
Dave Winston, Adrian Chase's bailiff, soon assumed the Vigilante identity. Refusing to kill, Winston traded on the fierce reputation of Vigilante to intimidate information out of thugs. He was murdered by Peacemaker while attempting to stop the hijacking of a plane which Chase was on. In the wake of Winston's death, Chase once again assumed the role of Vigilante, feeling that it was the only way to protect those he loved. Seeking revenge on Peacemaker, the out of shape Chase was beaten in a fight and unmasked on live TV, thereby ending his secret identity and forcing him even further into the role of the Vigilante.
As the series progressed Chase became ever more conflicted over his role as Vigilante, the violence he engaged in, and the harm he caused to those around him. He also became increasingly mentally unstable—alternating between bouts of enraged violence, paranoia, and terrible remorse for his actions. Near the end, he even resorted to murdering innocent police officers who got in his way. His mounting guilt culminated in the final issue of his series (#50) where, after contemplating the course of his life, Chase committed suicide.
Conrad will be the second actor to portray The Vigilante in live-action, after Josh Segarra on the CW series Arrow.
Peacemaker is scheduled to begin production in early 2021.