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There have been a lot of questions about what’s canon and what isn't in James Gunn’s DC Universe, and that’s understandable. For example, some DCEU characters like John Cena’s Peacemaker and Viola Davis’s Amanda Waller have carried over into the new universe's lore, while heroes like Superman have been recast. If you’re a longtime comic fan, this type of thing should be familiar to you, as no reboot is without its hiccups.

James Gunn has said that his 2021 DCEU era film The Suicide Squad is still canon to his DC Universe - and, indeed, what happened in that movie was referenced in the second season of Peacemaker, which is definitely part of the DCU canon. However, his brother Sean has pointed out a small wrinkle in that plan during an appearance at Spacecon 2026. 

Sean Gunn, who debuted as Maxwell Lord in the new DC Universe in 2025's Superman and reprised the role in Peacemaker season 2, made a cameo as Calendar Man in The Suicide Squad. According to the actor, though, we should ignore that scene the next time we rewatch the movie. “Calendar Man is not grandfathered into the DCU,” Gunn told the audience. “He is not canon in the new DCU.”

For those who don't remember seeing Calendar Man in the movie, he briefly appears in the scene introducing Polka-Dot Man as an another inmate of Belle Reve; the same scene ends with the introduction of Weasel, also played (via motion capture) by Sean Gunn. 

“That was cool,” Gunn said. “Calendar Man was just a cameo, but it was also part of that old universe. My guess is that if Calendar Man were to pop up again in the new DCU, that he would be recast. But I don’t know.” 

Calendar Man is just one of no less than four DC characters Sean Gunn has played - three of whom are part of the new DCU. In addition to Maxwell Lord, Gunn also voices both Weasel and G.I. Robot in the animated Creature Commandos series. Of course, those two are non-human characters who don’t look like Maxwell Lord, so they don’t create the same problem Calendar Man does.

Of course, this means the role of Calendar Man is currently up for grabs should he ever return to the screen. Let the fancasting begin!

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