Here’s How John Cena’s Merman Ken Fits Into Barbie

Well before Barbie was in theaters, fans were excited for the Greta Gerwig film, not just because well, it’s Barbie, but because of its star-studded cast. The film boasts some major stars like Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, Will Ferrell, and Simu Liu, but there are some great cameos as well — including one from John Cena. While fans knew going in that Cena would play a Merman Ken in the film, they couldn’t have predicted exactly how Cena’s Ken would appear, but now that Barbie is finally in theaters, we know exactly how it all plays out.

Warning: spoilers for Barbie beyond this point.

While we’re introduced to Dua Lipa’s Mermaid Barbie early in the film when Stereotypical Barbie (Robbie) goes to the Beach on just another Best Day Ever, we don’t meet Cena’s Merman Ken until much later in the movie. After Barbie and Ken (Gosling) go to the Real World to try to find the little girl who is playing Barbie and causing her to malfunction, Ken ends up learning that in the Real World it’s not women who run everything, but men so he brings back ideas about patriarchy to Barbieland and, in Barbie’s absences, installs a “Kendom.” When Barbie returns — along with humans Gloria (America Ferrera) and Sasha (Ariana Greenblatt) to set things right with her own issues — she begins to notice just how much Barbieland has changed. That includes the sudden appearance of Cena’s Merman Ken, a long, blonde-locked shirtless Ken who is being served a beer by Dua Lipa’s Mermaid Barbie.

“I was blown away with the concept,” Cena said in a behind-the scenes feature (via Entertainment Weekly). “I think it’s gonna be a movie that all audiences enjoy. I think it’s gonna be a movie that evokes conversation. And I think it’s going to beautifully visually appealing. And the ideas behind it, I think the audience will walk away with, like, a mixed bag of opinions, which I think is the greatest form of entertainment.”

Margot Robbie Reveals She Personally Got Cena Into Barbie

Speaking to Chris Van Vliet, Barbie star Margot Robbie revealed that she personally got Cena in the film’s ensemble.

“While we were shooting in London, I ran into him at a restaurant. We had worked together before, actually I ran into him because I went to pay the bill and they were like, ‘John Cena already took care of it.’ I was like, ‘What? Where is he, he’s hard to hide,’” Robbie recalled. “I found him and was like, ‘What are you doing here?’, he was shooting at [the place we were shooting Barbie]. I was like, ‘Do you want to come be a merman in Barbie?’, and he was like ‘Yeah.’ Surely he’s not going to agree to it just like that, and he did. He’s so awesome like that.”

What is Barbie About?

In Barbie, to live in Barbie Land is to be a perfect being in a perfect place. Unless you have a full-on existential crisis. Or you’re a Ken. From Oscar-nominated writer/director Greta Gerwig comes Barbie, which hits theaters on July 21st. Barbie stars Oscar-nominees Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling as Barbie and Ken, alongside America Ferrera, Kate McKinnon, Michael Cera, Ariana Greenblatt, Issa Rae, Rhea Perlman, and Will Ferrell. The film also stars Ana Cruz Kayne, Emma Mackey, Hari Nef, Alexandra Shipp, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Simu Liu, Ncuti Gatwa, Scott Evans, Jamie Demetriou, Connor Swindells, Sharon Rooney, Nicola Coughlan, Ritu Arya, Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter Dua Lipa and Oscar-winner Helen Mirren. Gerwig directed Barbie from a screenplay by Gerwig & Oscar nominee Noah Baumbach, based on Barbie by Mattel. 

Barbie is in theaters now.