John Cena is a highly credited actor, along with his wrestling resume. The Cenation Leader is on his retirement tour in WWE, which concludes on December 13, 2025, which will be his final wrestling match ever.
Currently, he is the lead on the Peacemaker series directed by James Gunn. The WWE Star portrays the anti-hero from the DC Comics Universe. Gunn is recognized for delivering many Superhero movies from the DC Universe.
Speaking on The Howard Stern Show, James Gunn revealed that John Cena was not his first pick for Peacemaker. He created the series with another WWE legend, Batista (Dave Bautista), in mind. However, scheduling conflicts with his other movie ventures made it impossible.
“It was Dave Batista is a good friend of mine. Obviously, he plays Drax in Guardians of the Galaxy, and I wrote the character of Peacemaker for him, and we offered him the role, but he was offered two movies, and we weren’t paying him a lot and so he had to go where the money was. And I had always been a fan of John since Trainwreck, especially. I thought he was so, so funny in that movie. Yep. That I met with him, we talked, we became instant friends.” (00:11 – 00:40)
Batista’s wrestling career spiked with Evolution, led by Triple H, in the early 2000s. He retired from WWE in 2019 and is now a notable part of the Hollywood landscape.
John Cena Did Not Audition For Peacemaker
In the same interview, James Gunn disclosed that John Cena did not audition for the role of Peacemaker. He was already a fan of the WWE veteran’s work in Trainwreck, a 2015 film, and his Suicide Squad appearance.
“I didn’t audition him. I just put him in it. But it was a simple role. It was very much like in Trainwreck, and it just got deeper and deeper. And there was a moment on the set of the Suicide Squad where I went to this close-up to John and I went all the way in on his eyes and I saw the stuff that was occurring behind his eyes and I thought, “Wow, this guy could really act.” And I think if you see, you know, season 2, he is absolutely not only funny, not only grounded, but also incredibly emotional, and I can’t wait for people to see the rest of the season.” (1:02 – 1:33)
Only ☝️ hour until #Peacemaker Season ✌️ premieres on @HBOMax! pic.twitter.com/HfTJckn6pY
— John Cena (@JohnCena) August 22, 2025
John Cena is gearing up to face a long-time rival, Brock Lesnar, one last time at Wrestlepalooza on September 20.
Please credit The Howard Stern Show and give an H/T to ITR Wrestling if using quotes from the article