John Cena didn’t have a great year at the movies in 2024. His films like Ricky Stanicky and Jackpot! were nothing more than time-killers. However, he had a couple of interesting cameo appearances, notably in the third season of The Bear and the 36th season of The Simpsons. Hopefully, he is about to change that with his upcoming films.
We’re going to see Cena more in WWE instead of the movies this year, as he has announced his retirement from professional wrestling after 2025. However, fans will eventually get to see him in some action-packed and comedy films.
His movie slate ranges from the action-comedy film Heads of State to the long-gestating The Janson Directive. He will also reprise his DC anti-hero role in the second season of James Gunn’s Peacemaker. Cena is set to appear in the following movies next.
1. Heads of State
John Cena joins forces with his The Suicide Squad co-star Idris Elba in this action comedy. The two actors were brought together for Heads of State by Amazon Studios, who also tapped director Ilya Naishuller. The Russian director’s previous work, Bob Odenkirk’s Nobody, makes fans excited for his next project with Cena.
According to IMDb, the film is currently in the post-production stage. THR reported that the film is being described as “Air Force One meets Midnight Run” and will focus on the dynamics between the lead pair as they encounter a high-stakes situation.
Peter Safran serves as a producer on the film alongside John Rickard via The Safran Company. It was Safran who pushed for the two lead actors to star together after witnessing them together in their DC movie. The first script for the film was written by Harrison Query of My Wife and I Bought a Ranch fame.
Beverly Hills Cop writers Josh Appelbaum and André Nemec reportedly wrote a new draft for the film. Joining Cena and Elba in the film are Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Paddy Considine, Stephen Root, Carla Gugino, and Jack Quaid. It is unknown whether the film will arrive in theaters or directly stream on Prime Video.
2. Matchbox
John Cena had a small part in Mattel’s toy-based film Barbie. Now, he has taken on the lead role in the film adaptation of another popular toy brand from Mattel, Matchbox. Mattel Films and Apple Original Films have tapped Extraction director Sam Hargrave to direct the film.
Hargrave previously worked as a stunt coordinator on Marvel films like Avengers: Endgame, Avengers: Infinity War, Thor: Ragnarok, and DCEU’s Suicide Squad. The film was produced by David Ellison and Dana Goldberg for Skydance and Don Granger and Robbie Brenner for Mattel Films.
David Coggeshall (The Family Plan) and Jonathan Tropper (The Adam Project) are writing the film’s screenplay. Besides Cena, the film stars Teyonah Parris, Jessica Biel, Sam Richardson, Danai Gurira, and Randeep Hooda. In January, Variety reported that the production was underway in Budapest. Filming is also expected to take place in Slovakia and Los Angeles.
While fans have little clue what the film version of the line of die-cast cars will look like, they are excited to see Cena in this film. According to Variety, the film follows a group of childhood friends who come together to stop an impending disaster while rediscovering their friendship.
3. The Janson Directive
Universal has yet to see any result in a decade-long attempt to adapt Robert Ludlum’s The Janson Directive novels into a franchise. Dwayne Johnson was initially cast as Paul Janson, the protagonist of the novel. However, Johnson became busy in the intervening years and stepped out of the role. Universal’s new pick for the role is John Cena.
Johnson will continue as a producer of the film, although it now stars his WWE rival. With the film, Universal planned to build an interconnected universe as Ludlum is also behind the character of Jason Bourne, played by Matt Damon in Hollywood.
In the novels, Janson is a former member of Consular Operations, a covert government agency. Janson is haunted by the memories of war and the betrayal of his commanding officer, Alan Demarest, during the Vietnam War. Janson’s testimony resulted in the execution of Demarest.
It was reported that James Vanderbilt was adapting the novel alongside Akiva Goldsman. Both of them are also producers on the project. Other producers include Ben Smith and Jeffrey Weiner from Captivate Entertainment, Hiram Garcia from Seven Bucks, and Brad Fischer and William Sherak from Mythology Entertainment.
4. Coyote vs. Acme
The completed hybrid live-action and animated film Coyote vs. Acme remains unreleased currently. Even backing from James Gunn as producer and a starring role from John Cena wasn’t enough for the film to save itself from WB’s cost-cutting measures. According to Deadline, WB initially decided to take a $30 million tax write-down for the $70 million production.
Top 10 Moments From John Cena and Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson’s Legendary Rivalry From WrestleMania 28
Following a massive backlash, WB allowed the filmmakers to find other distributors for the film. After negotiations with potential buyers went nowhere, WB reconsidered its decision to shelve the film. However, the conversations between the makers and WB were still ongoing last March. As of April 2024, the film was still available for acquisition (via The NY Times).
Cena addressed the studio’s decision to shelve the film during an interview with The Wrap. He shared that everybody involved “made what we thought was a good movie.” In a controversial remark, he sided with the studio and shared that he would have to think of it as a good business decision on WB’s part. He shared:
I would have liked to seen it given a chance. But I’m just one person. And if it was shelved, I would have to think that it was shelved for the right reasons and it was a good business decision. I think I would have tremendous regret and shame if I look back on the legacy of the movie and it was shelved for reasons other than that.
The film was originally based on an article in The New Yorker magazine titled Coyote vs. Acme by Ian Frazier. Frazier fictionalized a legal drama between Wile E. Coyote and the Acme Corporation from the Looney Tunes cartoon series. Gunn, Samy Burch, and Jeremy Slater developed a story based on the article.
Burch wrote the screenplay for the film, and Dave Green was hired as the director. Other stars alongside Cena include Will Forte, Lana Condor, P.J. Byrne, Tone Bell, Martha Kelly, and the voice of Eric Bauza.
5. Duke Nukem movie
Years before John Cena took on the role of Peacemaker, he was roped in to play another gun-bearing anti-hero. Cena was confirmed to star in the film adaptation of the Duke Nukem video game franchise in 2018. However, the project soon entered into development hell, with no significant update from the makers for years.
However, that is not the case anymore. One of the film’s producers, Brad Fuller, has finally shed light on what’s happening with the film. During his appearance at the SXSW Festival to promote his upcoming movie The Astronaut, Fuller shared with ScreenRant that the Duke Nukem project hasn’t been dropped yet.
However, Fuller couldn’t confirm anything about the movie besides the fact that it is still in development. He shared, “If I had information for you, I would tell you. I just know it’s something we’re talking about and trying to figure out.” In addition to Fuller, Andrew Form was one of the other producers on the project.
The producers wanted the film’s tone to resemble Deadpool as both films featured central characters who were famous for their trash talk. During the announcement of the project, the producers told Cinemablend:
We are working on Duke Nukem right now. It’s going to be about tone. That’s about tone. How do you nail that tone in the way that Deadpool nailed the tone? I think we have to do that and if we don’t get the tone right then we’re not going to make the movie.
The film is being developed at Paramount Pictures. The film hasn’t found any writers or directors yet. Duke Nukem, in the game, sets out to protect humanity from alien invaders, but he has his own style. It will be a perfect role for Cena at this point when his heel turn in WWE is the talk everywhere.
6. Jackpot! sequel
John Cena and Awkwafina‘s Jackpot! wasn’t a project that enjoyed great success upon its streaming release. The film was helmed by Bridesmaids director Paul Feig, who has had both great films and bad films in his career. Jackpot! fell into the latter category with a 31% Rotten Tomatoes score.
However, Feig doesn’t appear to care about the critical reception of the film, as he loved working on it. When he appeared at the SXSW Festival for the premiere of Another Simple Favor, he shared with ScreenRant that he would love to make sequels to his films Spy and Jackpot!
Feig shared, “I love Jackpot. The critics didn’t like it, but I loved it.” He further shared that he already knew “what I want the story for Jackpot 2 to be”. Feig hinted that Cena could potentially return for the sequel, as he shared, “We had so much fun. John and Nora and I just had the best time.”
However, there wouldn’t be much interest in a sequel. Even the Popcornmeter score for the 2024 film currently stands at 51%. In the film, Awkwafina’s Katie arrives in California in 2030 and enters and wins the Lottery. Unbeknownst to her, the financially desperate government has created the deadly Grand Lottery, where anyone can kill the winner to claim the cash prize.
She is soon found by Cena’s Noel Cassidy, a Lottery protection agent, who offers her protection in exchange for ten percent of her winnings. By the end of the film, the Grand Lottery has expanded across the country, making multiple storylines possible for a sequel.
John Cena will also return to James Gunn’s Peacemaker Season 2 this year
John Cena will return to his role as DC mercenary Christopher Smith, aka Peacemaker, in the second season of his eponymous series. The new season is set in DCU as opposed to the earlier season and hence serves as a soft reboot. James Gunn will be back as the showrunner of the series.
Cena will star alongside Danielle Brooks, Freddie Stroma, Jennifer Holland, Steve Agee, Robert Patrick, Frank Grillo, Sol Rodríguez, David Denman, and Tim Meadows in the second season. The filming began last June and concluded in November.
Gunn will direct three episodes of the season, while Greg Mottola, Peter Sollett, and Alethea Jones are tapped to direct other episodes. After the electric opening title sequence of the first season, brilliantly choreographed by Charissa Barton, received positive responses, Gunn shared that the new season will feature a new song and sequence (via Collider).
Peacemaker Season 2 will premiere on Max in August 2025, and the new season will consist of eight episodes.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
