Here’s What John Cena Would Look Like As Duke Nukem

After the report that John Cena could be getting ready to kick alien ass and chew bubble gum (although he might want to make sure he still has some gum first), one artist imagined how the WWE star might appear as Duke Nukem.

BossLogic reimagined the protagonist of the popular video game series as portrayed by John Cena, staying faithful to the classic look of the character. Check it out in the image below.

Cena has yet to sign onto the role, though he’s currently in negotiations to play Duke.

Paramount Pictures snatched the rights from current IP holder Gearbox Software after their initial deal with Dimension Films lapsed. They’re currently working with Platinum Dunes, the company from Michael Bay, Brad Fuller, and Andrew Form.

Seriously, if there was ever a pair made in the popcorn movie good place, it would be Michael Bay and John Cena working on a Duke Nukem movie.

The report from THR notes this would be yet another film Cena has worked on from Paramount, including both Daddy’s Home movies and the upcoming Transformers spinoff Bumblebee. But Duke Nukem would be something completely different.

The video games feature Nukem as a pastiche of cliche ’80s action stars, sporting a flat top and chomping a cigar as he stomps and shoots his way through alien invaders — while making the occasional stop at a strip club.

Though Duke Nukem 3D was a huge milestone for developer 3D Realms, the company was never able to recreate that success. And then the planned sequel, Duke Nukem Forever, had a tumultuous, decade-long development cycle before it was finally released, and was subject to a legal battle between 3D Realms and publisher Take-Two Interactive.

The game was panned after being released, but there were rumblings of a reboot being underway. With a new movie in the works, it’s likely that Gearbox would want to capitalize on the buzz with new software and wipe the memory of Forever with a competent product.