If you’re John Cena, you’re living in the best possible time to be John Cena. Apologies to everyone who doesn’t happen to be John Cena at this particular time. The onetime face whom ran the place appears to be winding down his time as a professional wrestler, even if he’s mincing words into a fine powder following his big loss to Roman Reigns at No Mercy.
Cena has no shortage of outside projects in the works at the moment. He’s going to be the lead in a Transformers spinoff. He’s co-starring in Daddy’s Home 2. He has a lead role in a potential blockbuster comedy. He’s probably going to drive a talking car in ANOTHER movie. Oh yeah, and he might just be frigging Shazam.
But somehow, Cena’s never landed the one role he’s straight-up built for: one-half of a buddy cop tandem. WELL THAT ALL CHANGES TONIGHT, JACK. Or soon, or whenever the casting and production schedule for this new project gets finalized.
Deadline reports that Cena is attached to star in a new, as-of-yet-untitled buddy cop comedy alongside Kumail Nanjiani, star of Silicon Valley and co-writer and star of The Big Sick. Ruben Fleischer, one of the three writers on this film, will direct. Fleischer also directed Zomebieland and will be directing the upcoming Venom movie, so this is a legit team on this movie.
It’s hard to think up a more odd-duck pairing than Cena and Nanjiani, which will probably make this movie completely work. If you haven’t seen The Big Sick, you should probably clear your weekend plans, because it’s one of the most perfect comedies to come around in recent years, and was Nanjiani’s big coming-out party as a legitimate leading man.
Cena is well on his way to becoming a for-real movie star, and he’s clearly picking his projects wisely. Maybe he’ll follow in the Rock’s footsteps in Hollywood. And by that, I mean maybe he’ll be the star of San Andreas 2: Whole Lotta Shakin’.
