John Cena Addresses Suicide Squad Casting Rumors

It sounds like James Gunn is assembling his own team of superstars for the DC Comics universe, with a brand new take on The Suicide Squad set to unite some of the fan-favorite characters from the first film with a few fresh faces joining the fold. But with Dave Bautista busy and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson committed to Black Adam, there’s an opening for a wrestling superstar to join the Squad.

Enter John Cena, who has long been rumored to be playing the character Peacemaker in the new film. While the news has not been officially announced, Cena himself addressed The Suicide Squad during an interview with The Wrap, saying it “would be a tremendous opportunity for growth.”

“You have to get everything buttoned up before you can make it official, I don’t want to say anything,” said Cena. “I will just say that if that opportunity presents itself, then I will be very grateful to take it.”

It sounds like Cena isn’t willing to spill the beans just yet, but his silence still says a lot. The report indicates that a lot of the rumors we’ve heard have been valid, and that the roster featuring Peacemaker and Polkadot Man is set to come to the big screen.

With Viola Davis returning as Amanda Waller, Jai Courtney as Captain Boomerang, Joel Kinnaman as Rick Flagg, and Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, there are still some openings on the team — especially with the confirmed departure of Will Smith’s Deadshot.

Instead, we’re getting a new alpha in the pack with Idris Elba joining the cast. His role has not been revealed just yet, but current rumors indicate that Elba is playing longtime Squad member Bronze Tiger, one of the most prominent characters from the comics.

“I have been an enormous fan of [Suicide Squad] in all its [DC Comics] incarnations – but to me there will always be something special about the [John Ostrander] run,” Gunn wrote on Twitter when the project started coming together. “Black ops military tales with disposable, often forgotten super villains?! Pure perfection.”

There have been a lot of questions about whether the movie is a reboot or a sequel to the original Suicide Squad, and Gunn himself is reluctant to reveal any details.

“You know, these terms are all so narrow. There are so many terms,” Gunn told Entertainment Tonight. “It is what it is. You’ll see in two years when it comes out.”

The Suicide Squad is currently on track to release in theaters on August 6, 2021.