James Gunn Says John Cena's Former WWE Co-Worker Turned Down Peacemaker Lead Role

Arguably the most iconic role of John Cena's film career is none other than his portrayal of DC Comics antihero Peacemaker, and despite the 17-time WWE Champion being universally praised for his performance as the character, he was not the first casting choice for the part.

According to Marvel and DC Director James Gunn in a recent interview on "The Howard Stern Show," one of Cena's former WWE rivals was actually considered for Peacemaker first, but was unable to fulfill the role after having committed to several other film projects beforehand.

"It was Dave Bautista, he's a good friend of mine. Obviously, he plays Drax in Guardians of the Galaxy and I wrote the character of Peacemaker for him and we offered him the role, but he was offered two movies and we weren't paying him a lot and so he had to go where the money was. And I had always been a fan of John since Trainwreck especially. I thought he was so funny in that movie that I met with him, we talked, we became instant friends and then since then, I've worked with him more than any other actor." 

Gunn also revealed that he didn't audition Cena for Peacemaker and opted to directly give him the part due to feeling that the role wasn't too complicated. He also credited Cena for managing to be both comedic and emotional as the character, and claimed that the loves the Peacemaker show more than anything else he's ever worked on in his entire career. 

New episodes of Peacemaker Season 2 are currently available to watch on HBO Max. 

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "The Howard Stern Show" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.