The Big Picture

John Cena jokes about what it cost him to get cast in Argylle and if he’s prepping for a new dance number in Peacemaker Season 2. Ariana DeBose got to sing two songs on the film’s soundtrack, a thrilling opportunity. The script of Argylle is full of unpredictable twists and turns, making it an exciting read.

In the upcoming spy comedy Argylle, author Elly Conway (Bryce Dallas Howard), whose spy novels center around the dashing Argylle (Henry Cavill), is drawn into the real world of international espionage when the plot of one of her books gets a little too close to reality. Along the way, she meets Aiden (Sam Rockwell), a real spy who joins forces with Elly to keep her — and her pet cat — safe.

In this interview with Collider’s Steve Weintraub, Argylle stars Ariana DeBose and John Cena talk about getting to work with Matthew Vaughn on the spy comedy, and reveal why he was the perfect person to take on a script with so many twists and turns. DeBose also talks about singing two of the songs on the film’s soundtrack, and Cena explains why he isn’t preparing and new dance moves for the Peacemaker Season 2 opening credits. Watch the full interview above or check out the transcript below:

Argylle An introverted spy novelist is drawn into the activities of a sinister underground syndicate. Release Date February 2, 2024 Director Matthew Vaughn Runtime 135 minutes Writers Jason Fuchs

COLLIDER: I guess I have to start with the most important thing up front. John, I know you’re a huge fan of Matthew Vaughn, and I know you really wanted to work with him. So how much did you pay to work with him?

JOHN CENA: I think I’m forever in his debt. I just think it’s an automatic withdrawal that I don’t see every month. It’s kind of like signing up for a gym membership. You know, I can’t cancel it, and it just takes from me every month. But it was worth the spend, just as the same as a gym membership.

The thing about Matthew is he works with a lot of the same people again and again, and once you get in, it opens that door. One of the things that frustrates me about Matthew is that he’s a very talented writer-director, and now an effing songwriter, you know what I mean? I wanna talk to you, because you did two songs, and they’re both really good. You did a Bond-type song over the credits, and then you did Electric Energy with Boy George.

ARIANA DEBOSE: I know, bananas. I mean, I made the movie, we shot this during the pandemic, and then Matthew went into post and somewhere along that time I won an Oscar for West Side Story, and he called me up and he was like, “cool, you won an Oscar. So I think we should do something else with you in the film, or for the film.” And I was like, “what do you have in mind?” And he was like, “you want to sing some songs?” And I was like, “that sounds fun. What have you got?”

He played me these tunes that he’d been working on with Lauren Balf and the great Stuart Price and Gary Barlow. And I was like, “yeah, I’m so in, let’s go, put me in a studio and I will do my best.” Then along the way, Boy George came on to write additional lyrics for Electric Energy, and now Nile Rogers is also a part of Electric Energy. It was the gift that kept on giving and allowed me to work in a different way. I’d never worked on music for a film before. West Side Story is a Sondheim musical. That’s not what this is. We had a great time, and I got to live my disco queen, Adele, spy dreams.

It is also a very catchy song. I want to touch on one of the things about this film. It’s a little hard to talk about, because the twists and turns are like everywhere. So for both of you, I’m curious, what is it like reading a script like this for the first time, when it literally could be anything on the next page?

DEBOSE: That’s thrilling to me. That’s a good read.

CENA: I think that the biggest thing for me is, how are they gonna pull that off, and this is a testament to Matthew because he has such a distinct vision. He knows how he’s gonna pull it off, and he makes sure everyone is informed like, “hey, I know we’re gonna film this thing right now but never forget, we did this before, this is what’s gonna happen after, and this is what you’re looking at, that’s also happened within 10 to 15 twists and turns.” When you have someone at the top who knows everything that’s going on, when you read something like that, it’s like, “sounds great, but how are they gonna do it?” And then you see it, and it’s better than what’s in your imagination. That’s always another great payoff.

DEBOSE: He’s a man with a plan.

Will John Cena Dance in ‘Peacemaker’ Season 2?
Image via HBO Max

I definitely have to touch on something else that has nothing to do with this movie, which is, the Peacemaker opening credits, which obviously the entire planet loves. I’ve seen it recreated around the world. When did you realize, “oh, wait these opening credits are like…what is going on?” And have you been practicing the dancing for the Peacemaker Season 2 new opening credits?

CENA: I didn’t do a lot of practice before the open of the first season. So I’m hitting my same habit. I could only hope that for the next season, we have a new number because I could use the practice. I’m glad everybody liked the first one, and just like with Argylle, I think we can build a lot of stories around this. So I hope the world loves Argylle, so we can do something like this again, dancing or not. Maybe you can give me some moves.

DEBOSE: I got you. Literally just call me.

My last question for you because I’m just about out of time, you see the shooting schedule, you know what’s in front of you, what is the day you have circled in terms of, “I cannot wait to film this” or “Oh my God, how are we filming this?”

DEBOSE: That was the whole calendar to me.

CENA: For me, I think just day one on set is important in any project, no matter where you fall into the rhythm. If you’ve fallen on day 60 of 100, but it’s your first day, I think day one says a lot, regardless of when your day one is. You’re welcomed into an environment that takes a village, and Matthew runs with a good crew, and he puts good people around him and day one was awesome. So you know the other days are gonna be great.

Argylle hits theaters on February 2.

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