The Suicide Squad: Peacemaker Actor John Cena Praises James Gunn’s Approach

Earlier this year, fans got to see an explosive first look at The Suicide Squad, James Gunn‘s take on the iconic DC Comics group. After revealing the film’s roster of characters and a behind-the-scenes sizzle reel at August’s DC FanDome convention, the film did a pretty stellar job of getting fans excited to see more. According to one of the film’s stars, Peacemaker actor John Cena, that level of hype is partially thanks to Gunn’s reverential approach to writing and directing the film.

“I think the most important thing, as far as The Suicide Squad is concerned, is the name ‘James Gunn,’” Cena revealed during a recent appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. “And people know James and his passion to tell a story and his passion to weave a narrative and develop characters you care about. A perfect template for that is [Guardians of the Galaxy]. As just a general moviegoer, I knew nothing about Guardians but five minutes into the movie, I care about the characters. And that’s what he does so well.”

This isn’t the first time that Cena has openly praised Gunn’s take on The Suicide Squad, saying in an earlier interview that his enthusiastic energy carried over to the film’s cast. And given the fact that Cena and Gunn are set to reunite on a Peacemaker spinoff series for HBO Max, it’s clear that the duo share an interesting creative ground.

“You want to go to work with people who jump out of bed every day and want to go to work,” Cena said in a previous interview. “[Gunn] is the epitome of that. He cares so much about what he’s doing and I think especially when he’s put in a position to write, develop, and do this by his rules essentially. He chose the franchise. He kind of dictated his terms and now he’s really betting on himself and I hope everybody enjoys seeing it as much as we’re enjoying making it because it’s awesome.”

The Suicide Squad will star Viola Davis as Amanda Waller, Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, Jai Courtney as Captain Boomerang, Joel Kinnaman as Colonel Rick Flag, David Dastmalchian as Polka-Dot Man, Steve Agee as King Shark, Daniela Melchior as Ratcatcher 2, Idris Elba as Bloodsport, John Cena as Peacemaker, Nathan Fillion as T.D.K., Pete Davidson as Blackguard, Flula Borg as Javelin, Mayling Ng as Mongal, Michael Rooker as Savant, Peter Capaldi as The Thinker, Alice Braga as Sol Soria, and Sean Gunn as Weasel.

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