James Gunn Reveals John Cena Wasn’t 1st Choice for DCU Role

The Suicide Squad writer-director James Gunn has just revealed that John Cena was not his first choice for the role of Peacemaker.

Who did James Gunn write the Peacemaker role for?

During a recent appearance on The Howard Stern Show, Gunn shared that he originally wrote the role of Peacemaker for Dave Bautista, who portrayed Drax in his Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy.

“I wrote the character of Peacemaker for him, and we offered him the role, but it was offered two movies, and we weren’t paying him a lot, so he had to go where the money was,” Gunn explained as to why Bautista didn’t end up as Peacemaker for The Suicide Squad.

Gunn shared that he had “always been a fan of John [Cena] since Trainwreck especially, I thought he was so so funny in that movie.” The director continued, “I met with him, we talked, we became instant, instant friends, and since then, you know, I’ve worked with him more than any other actor because I’ve done two seasons of Peacemaker, Suicide Squad, and you know we’re going to be doing more together. So, he’s a fantastic guy, a fantastic actor. Really, I think I love the Peacemaker show more than anything else I’ve ever done.”

Check out the exchange between Stern and Gunn below, courtesy of The Howard Stern Show on X:

More than four years after the release of The Suicide Squad, it’s hard to imagine anyone but Cena in the role of Peacemaker, with the actor having earned praise from critics and fans for his performance as the DC anti-hero. Cena’s Peacemaker was one of the few holdovers from the now-concluded DC Extended Universe, with the character now enjoying a prominent role in the new DC Universe. It remains to be seen where Peacemaker will pop up next in the DCU, although Gunn’s comments to Stern seem to imply that the DC Studios head knows exactly where the character’s future in the franchise lies.

A new episode of Peacemaker Season 2 drops every Thursday on HBO Max until Oct. 9.