Although he’s still on the professional wrestling circuit, John Cena has also built quite the acting career over the last decade, most recently starring in movies like Blockers and Bumblebee. Now there’s word that he may finally make the jump to the superhero genre with the upcoming Suicide Squad 2, a.k.a. The Suicide Squad.
Word’s come in that John Cena is currently in talks to join Suicide Squad 2, although no details were provided in Variety’s report about who he would be playing. Assuming a deal is finalized, Cena would be the second new actor to join the sequel, following Idris Elba, who was originally going to take over as Deadshot from Will Smith, but will now play a new character instead.
If John Cena does end up joining Suicide Squad 2, he won’t be the only WWE superstar lending his acting talents to this franchise. Since 2014, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has been attached to play Shazam adversary Black Adam, and Johnson recently said that he expects the Black Adam movie to begin filming in a year. However, given that Suicide Squad 2 already has a release date and is reportedly scheduled to begin principal photography in the fall, one would imagine Cena will make his DCEU debut before Johnson.
Although John Cena was among the many actors that were rumored to being looked at to play Shazam before Zachary Levi scored the role, this Suicide Squad 2 news definitely sounds like more of a sure thing, though we’ll have to wait and see if he actually signs on. In any case, Cena showed he has blockbuster chops last winter playing Agent Jack Burns in Bumblebee, so Suicide Squad 2 would be an appropriate step up.
It’s also worth noting that if Suicide Squad 2 is tonally similar to its predecessor, and that’ll likely be the case given that James Gunn is writing and directing, then it’ll also be infused with comedy, and John Cena has shown he can be funny through Trainwreck, Sisters, Blockers and more. As for who Cena could play in Suicide Squad 2, I originally suspected characters like Blockbuster and King Shark might be candidates. However, Variety's Justin Kroll added that while not confirmed, he's heard Cena would play Peacemaker, a role originally intended for Dave Bautista.
In addition to Idris Elba and the potential inclusion of John Cena, Suicide Squad 2 also has Margot Robbie, Jai Courtney and Viola Davis lined up to reprise Harley Quinn, Captain Boomerang and Amanda Waller, respectively. Still, it’s been repeatedly said that this movie is envisioned as more of a relaunch than a direct sequel to Suicide Squad and will feature a mostly new cast, so expect more fresh faces to be announced in the coming weeks/months.
Suicide Squad 2 opens in theaters August 6, 2021, so stay tuned to CinemaBlend for continuing coverage. In the meantime, you can learn what else is coming down the DCEU pipeline by browsing through our handy guide.
