Peacemaker has taken HBO Max, and the internet, by storm.
Starring John Cena as the antihero, the show follows a covert mission looking to stop an alien invasion. The aliens are known as “butterflies,” creatures who inhabit people’s brains and then live on earth in their bodies.
The leader of the group, Murn, is played by actor Chukwudi Iwuji.
Iwuji joined WMBD’s Matt Sheehan for an exclusive interview that aired on WMBD This Morning and Good Day Central Illinois.
At the end of episode 5 it is revealed that Iwuji’s character is actually a butterfly. Episode 6 fleshes out his backstory and leaves the door wide open for where the show can go.
While it hasn’t been confirmed yet, many sources say there’s a “good chance” Peacemaker will be renewed for season 2. Iwuji said he’d love if this happened, and that there is much more story to tell.
I was working with WB to interview the cast from Peacemaker, and was thrilled to learn that I’d be speaking with Chukwudi Iwuji. Starting as an emotionless leader of the group, Murn seemed to just be focused on getting the job done than. The goal is to exterminate the butterflies and make Earth a safer place to live.
At the end of episode 5, you find out Murn is actually a Butterfly himself. At the time I released the original article, episode 6 wasn’t out yet so I wasn’t able to dive into his back story, but only refer to the big reveal at the end of ep. 5.
The episode leaves viewers on a cliffhanger, thinking he was about to kill Leota Adebayo (the crew just calls her Adebayo), played by Danielle Brooks.
In episode 6, you find out that Murn is really an outlier of his own species and was morally at odds with the Butterflies’ plans. You see Iwuji finally really start to show emotion in this episode. He begins to care for his team and you see his desire to make the world a better place, even though he’s not even from Earth to begin with.
Sadly, Murn’s story seems to come to an abrupt end. The Butterflies have now infiltrated the local police department. One of the characters being the Captain, who was Murn’s inside guy on the force to make sure anything that went awry with his team’s mission got covered up.
One of the things Butterflies can do when they possess someone, is know their memories. This is how the entire Butterfly brigade learned of Murn’s plans and how to find him. You also hear about who Murn was before taken over by the Butterfly. He tells the team that the man he overtook was a criminal.
In Episode 7, we see Murn be killed (twice) by the Butterfly brigade. First, he’s shot multiple times while still in his human form, but then is where the real tear-jerker moment comes in.
You see the real Murn. The Butterfly Murn. And he tries to fly away, but is caught by the Butterfly leader, Goff, and crushed in the palm of its hand.
This is the saddest part of the entire show, and it’s not even about a human. But it kind of is? James Gunn did an impeccable job by causing the audience to care so deeply about Murn, both human and Butterfly. The Butterfly was seen as Murn’s soul.
At one point, I also thought they were gonna kill of Eagly. Which is probably the one thing you cannot do. Don’t ever kill Eagly!
I hope you all are enjoying Peacemaker on HBO Max. The series finale drops next Thursday, Feb. 17th.
Matt Sheehan Official 