WWE legend John Cena takes to the ring for the final time in 50 days – so to whet your appetite for that, you can take in some of his most iconic movie roles.
John Cena is a bona-fide WWE legend, and he takes to the ring for the final (he says) time in just 50 days’ time.
Understandably, there is much excitement about this event, but before that, if you are looking for a Cena fix, then you have a whole canon of movies he’s appeared in over the past 15 years or so.
Cena has had one of the more successful transitions from the ring to the big screen – more Dwayne Johnson than Hulk Hogan – so there are plenty to choose from. Here are some of his most iconic movies.
The Marine (2006)
Cena’s debut screen role (it was executive produced by Vince McMahon through WWE’s film division) sees him playing John Triton, the marine of the title, who, after being discharged from the Marines goes after a group of diamond thieves that have kidnapped his wife – cue lots of chasing, explosions and fighting.
The film wasn’t a big hit either with critics or cinema-goers – one website said it was either so bad its good or just really, really bad – but it did nevertheless showcase Cena’s action and leading man skills enough to get offered more roles.
The Suicide Squad (2021)
Cena played Peacemaker in this DC Extended Universe (first attempt) movie, where he is one of a number of convicts that join a task force called the Suicide Squad and in exchange for carrying out dangerous missions, they get lighter sentences.
His appearance was so successful that he got he got to reprise the role in a Peacemaker spinoff series on HBO Max. The first series was a continuation of the movie, the second was a soft reboot and stood as the first live-action series in the DC Universe, and takes place after the events of Superman.
Blockers (2018)
Blockers is one of Cena’s comedy roles, where in this predicable romantic comedy he plays a dad who, along with a group of other parents, tries to stop their respective daughters losing their virginity on high school prom. Some odd situations occur – with some laughter – and you also have the spectacle of Cena in some spectacular cargo shorts. It was generally successful and brought some intelligence and empathy for a genre that isn’t known for it.
Trainwreck (2015)
In this romantic sex comedy, written by and starring Amy Schumer, Cena stars as Steven, who has a fling with commitment-phobic party girl Amy (Schumer) and a gym addict. However, he gets dumped when Amy meets surgeon Aaron. Cena’s role is mostly remembered for a hilariously awkward sex scene, where he sends people like him up – and he and Schumer have talked about it in interviews since fondly.
F9 (2021)
Like many action heroes, Cena has ended up in one of the myriad Fast & Furious movies. He joined the franchise for the ninth mainline instalment as Jakob Toretto, brother of Vin Diesel’s character Dominic. The pair have been estranged for many years after Dom blamed Jakob for their father’s death. They again clash in this movie with Jakob as a rogue agent trying to steal a device that Dom is trying to protect. Fights and improbable car chases ensue. Cena reprised his role in the 10th film.
Barbie (2023)
Cena doesn’t appear for long in Barbie, but he is certainly memorable. He plays Mermaid Ken – one of several Ken doll variants seen in the movie – with long blond hair, and clearly had a whale of a time with the role, hamming it up to the max.
