John Cena just confirmed that he is indeed going to be in Warner Brothers’ ‘The Suicide Squad’ to be directed by James Gunn. Well, no, he didn’t actually come right out and say it… but he might as well have.
While promoting his new Nickelodeon game show ‘Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?’, he spoke to The Wrap regarding ‘The Suicide Squad’ and said:
“You have to get everything buttoned up before you can make it official, I don’t want to say anything … I will just say that if that opportunity presents itself, then I will be very grateful to take it.”
So it is not official yet. It sounds as though contract negotiations are underway. Once everything lines up the way Cena and his people, and WB both like, an announcement will be made.
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Cena referred to the chance to star in ‘The Suicide Squad’ as “a tremendous opportunity for growth.” (Not that Cena needs to grow any more. Yeesh!)
Obviously, since it hasn’t been announced that Cena is for certain going to be in ‘The Suicide Squad’, we don’t know who he is playing. However, Gunn reportedly included the character Peacemaker in his screenplay, intending for him to be played by his pal Dave Bautista— who, like Cena, first gained fame as a WWE wrestler. But Bautista reportedly had to pass due to scheduling conflicts. It would make perfect sense to replace him with another beefy man-slab with experience playing in both action and comedy roles.
Peacemaker is pacifist Christopher Smith, whose exploits were originally published by Charlton Comics, but after that company folded, he was absorbed into the DC Universe. Originally, he used non-lethal weaponry to end violence in the world, but in more recent comics, he has been depicted as being mentally unhinged and loves peace so much he’d “kill for it.” He uses real lethal weaponry, these days.
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This character was heavily modified into The Comedian in the classic miniseries ‘The Watchmen’.
Should Cena sign on, he will join Jai Courtney (Captain Boomerang), David Dastmalchian as Polka-Dot Man, Viola Davis (Amanda Waller), Idris Elba (rumored to be Bronze Tiger), Joel Kinnaman (Rick Flag), Daniela Melchior as Ratcatcher, and Margot Robbie (Harley Quinn).
Production is expected to begin later this year, with ‘The Suicide Squad’ scheduled to hit theaters on August 6, 2021.
