John Cena is rumored to be in the running for the title role in an upcoming Terminator reboot, but many fans may not know the actor has already crossed paths with one of Skynet’s scariest villains at the beginning of his movie career. Beginning with James Cameron’s original The Terminator in 1984, the franchise has since gone on to include two direct sequels, a trio of failed reboots and a short-lived television series. Despite being a massively influential series whose first two outings left an outsized mark on the history of sci-fi cinema, the Terminator franchise has struggled to regain favor from critics or audiences alike since 2003’s Terminator: Rise of the Machines.
Despite the many failed reboots that the series has attempted, former wrestler/blockbuster staple John Clea is rumored to be considering the title role in another reimagining that would relaunch the franchise once again. However, if the actor opts to take on the role, this would not be the first time Cena has been connected to the Terminator franchise. John Cena has already bested the T-1000 onscreen in one of his first major movies, 2006’s The Marine.
In this guilty pleasure action flick - which was a modest theatrical success but predates Cena’s superstardom by a few years - John Cena's eponymous military veteran faces down crime boss Rome, played by T-1000 actor Robert Patrick. The movie fits in a nod to Patrick’s iconic role when one of his character’s henchmen says realizes the hero is still hot on their heels, prompting him to claim Cena’s character is “like the Terminator." This earns a sideways glance from his boss.
It’s a clever in-joke but one viewers could easily miss, as Patrick’s sleazy Marine villain could not look less like the icy, unsettling T-1000. The Marine is not notable for much else besides this connection, although Patrick does offer an agreeably cheesy villainous performance that can go toe-to-toe with Aidan Gillen’s campy turn as the baddie of Cena's next action movie 12 Rounds. However, while the actor is possibly to be in line to play the next Terminator, Cena had not quite mastered his screen persona back in 2006 and struggled to make an impression in the forgettable action outing.
Only time will tell whether John Cena takes on the role and reinvents Arnold Schwarzenegger’s infamous android assassin, although with his mooted co-star Margot Robbie balancing a Pirates of the Caribbean reboot and a possible Terminator role, there is a chance it won't come to fruition thanks to overstuffed schedules. Still, regardless of the seventh Terminator installment’s (hopefully not dark) fate, Cena can at least boast the achievement of besting the formidable T-1000 early in his career.