The Suicide Squad star John Cena discussed what it was like working with director James Gunn's "horribly beautiful, corrupt mind" in his upcoming DC Extended Universe film.
Cena shared that he originally came up with the idea for his Peacemaker character to eat an empanada in one bite in a scene in The Suicide Squad on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. However, Gunn asked for 40 takes of it during filming, which led the former WWE Champion-turned-action star to deem it his "most difficult stunt in The Suicide Squad."
"The stunts were incredible and filming the movie was treacherous, but that right there [referring to the empanada scene above] is the face of defeat," he said. "That is me eating my 37 of 40 empanadas. We had to do this one big take because the horribly beautiful corrupted mind of James Gunn operates in so many intricate pieces."
Cena clarified that, at first, he thought, "'Oh it'd be funny to eat the whole empanada, throw the thing over the shoulder and the guy catches it. It's gonna be great. Everyone's gonna think it's awesome!' I had to do it 40 times and nearly ate myself sick. You can tell by that picture, I was not having a good day. That was my most difficult stunt in The Suicide Squad."
The actor also shared some insight into what fans can expect from his antihero character in Gunn's upcoming DCEU film and the HBO Max spinoff series. "Peacemaker is like the polar opposite of Bruce Wayne," he said. When he was asked by Fallon how he would describe Peacemaker, Cena replied, "I would say douche-y, bro-y, Captain America."
Cena is reprising his role as Christopher Smith/Peacemaker for the eight-episode HBO Max series centered on his character. The series expands upon the world that Gunn created in 2021's The Suicide Squad. While the plot is being kept secret, Gunn previously stated that the show "is an opportunity to delve into current world issues through the lens of this superhero/supervillain/and world’s biggest douchebag."
Written and directed by James Gunn, The Suicide Squad stars Viola Davis as Amanda Waller, Joel Kinnaman as Rick Flag, Michael Rooker as Savant, Flula Borg as Javelin, David Dastmalchian as Polka-Dot Man, Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, Daniela Melchior as Ratcatcher 2, Idris Elba as Bloodsport, Mayling NG as Mongal, Peter Capaldi as The Thinker, Alice Braga as Solsoria, Steve Agee as King Shark, Pete Davidson as Blackguard, Nathan Fillion as TDK, Sean Gunn as Weasel, Jai Courtney as Captain Boomerang, John Cena as Peacemaker, Taika Waititi and Storm Reid. The film arrives in theaters and HBO Max Aug. 6.
Source: YouTube