John Cena‘s acting career so far has been almost entirely defined by the action and comedy genres, often a combination of the two. In fact, he was so good at marrying his brutish physicality with underrated comic timing in The Suicide Squad that he ended up getting HBO Max spinoff series Peacemaker out of the deal.
One thing we haven’t seen from Hollywood’s latest wrestler-turned-actor is a real taste of his dramatic chops, but that’s about to change in a major way. As per Deadline, the 44-year-old has signed on to star in political thriller The Independent, where he’ll face off with Academy Award winner Kathy Bates as a pair of presidential candidates vying for the top job. That’s right; the square-jawed and impossibly jacked John Cena will be gunning for the White House.
Amy Rice is directing the movie from a script by Evan Parter, which follows an idealistic journalist played by Without Remorse‘s Jodie Turner-Smith. Teaming up with veteran character actor Brian Cox, the protege and mentor stumble upon a conspiracy that puts the fate of the entire nation in their hands, with the revelations having the potential to derail the election.
John Cena and Kathy Bates as rival politicians is definitely enough to pique the curiosity, and it’ll be a real test for the former as he heads a million miles outside of his comfort zone. The Independent begins shooting in November, so it could be in theaters before the end of 2022.
