In the Season 2 finale of Peacemaker, John Cena’s character kisses Jennifer Holland’s character, and showrunner James Gunn has admitted that he felt “uncomfortable” leading up to the scene because he’s married to Holland.
In a recent Peacemaker podcast episode featuring Gunn and Holland talking about the scene, she suggested that it “must be weird seeing your wife kissing another person,” as she did in the finale.
“I don’t ever think about it like that, though, when two actors are on screen,” she added. “It just doesn’t feel… It feels so technical.” Cena's eponymous character, Peacemaker, kisses Emilia Harcourt, his romantic interest in the series, in the finale.
Gunn remarked that the scene was “especially technical” because they shot it with a high-speed Phantom camera, which allows shooting in ultra slow-motion.
“You guys had to go back in a certain way, then you had to come together and then the camera ramps down,” Gunn said. “We had to do it over and over, and then you’re standing on the Lazy Susan as we’re curling around you. … I had to direct you kissing a man in front of, like, 200, 300 extras or more. The whole thing was kind of weird before it happened. I was uncomfortable about it, admittedly.”
Gunn, who wrote and directed the episode, was telling himself leading up to the scene that he didn’t want to do it, but ultimately didn’t mind when it came to actually shooting it.
“Once we were doing it, I didn’t give a shit,” he said. “I was totally fine.” Holland added that he “instantly let it go” once the cameras were rolling.
“I was looking at the kiss… I’m fucking loving it because it’s like these beautiful shots,” he continued. “I mean, some of our best shots ever from the series are in that sequence.”
Holland also said that it probably felt weird for John Cena’s wife, Shay Shariatzadeh, who was on set alongside Gunn when the scene was shot.
“I’m sure it wasn’t great for John, either; his wife Shay is [on the set],” she said, to which Gunn added that she was right next to him watching the production.