Suicide Squad 2: John Cena Won’t Deny He’s Playing Peacemaker

John Cena will neither confirm no deny he's playing Peacemaker in James Gunn's DC movie sequel, The Suicide Squad. Gunn is currently in the middle of shooting his film, which he signed on for after being fired (but before being rehired) from Marvel Studios' Guardians of the Galaxy 3. Since it's not scheduled to arrive until August 2021, plot details are being kept firmly under-wraps right now. However, Gunn has confirmed his entire cast for The Suicide Squad, which includes David Ayer's Suicide Squad stars Margot Robbie, Viola Davis, Jai Courtney, and Joel Kinnaman back in their roles.

Cena is one of many new additions to the DC Extended Universe (not the official title) in the film, along with Idris Elba, Storm Reid, Peter Capaldi, Taika Waititi, Michael Rooker, and much more. It's long been rumored Cena is playing Christopher Smith/Peacemaker, a character Gunn supposedly considered having his Drax the Destroyer actor Dave Bautista play early on (before a scheduling conflict forced Bautista to pass). For now, though, Cena is keeping his mouth shut on the matter.

The wrestler-turned actor appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live this week to promote next week's Robert Downey Jr.-led Dolittle (which features Cena as the voice of Yoshi, a polar bear). Kimmel asked him straight up if he's playing Peacemaker in The Suicide Squad as rumored, to which Cena said he can't "confirm or deny" anything about his role in the movie. He did reveal he's in the middle of filming right now before joking about his caginess, saying "The DC people are always watching!"

The comic book version of Peacemaker is a pacifist so committed to peace he's willing to fight others for his cause. He's a character who inherently lends himself to a funnier interpretation, especially one where he's played by a burly actor like Cena (who's already proven he has a knack for comedy with his roles in Trainwreck and Blockers). At the same time, he's a haunted figure whose attempts to bring about peace through violence are fueled by the memory of his father, a Nazi commander. In other words, he's the sort of antihero who must overcome their traumatic past in order to improve themselves that very much lies in Gunn's wheelhouse, as evidenced by his work on Guardians of the Galaxy 1 & 2.

Mind you, that doesn't guarantee Peacemaker is in The Suicide Squad (or that Cena's playing him), but it makes it a lot more likely. Kinnaman has confirmed the film has the same comedic tone as Gunn's previous movies, so his inclusion wouldn't feel out of place, either. Either way, it may be a while before either Cena's role or any other details about the film are made official. In fact, Warner Bros. might not reveal anything about The Suicide Squad until its Hall H panel at San Diego Comic-Con this summer.

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Source: Jimmy Kimmel Live