The Big Picture

Collider’s Steve Weintraub talks with John Cena about his upcoming Prime Video action-comedy
Jackpot!
.
Cena talks about working with co-stars on set, the improvisation with Paul Feig, and reveals a new dance number in
Peacemaker
Season 2.
He also discusses his future plans for his WWE farewell tour in 2025.

It’s been a banner year for John Cena. The wrestler-turned-actor has landed roles with some pretty big projects in 2024, including the Emmy-winning series The Bear and Matthew Vaughn’s star-studded comedy, Argylle. That’s on top of filming for DC’s spin-off series Peacemaker and his WWE career. Up next, Cena is starring opposite comedian Awkwafina in Paul Feig’s dystopian comedy Jackpot!, and gets to showcase his comedic chops in addition to the action we know he can crush.

During an interview ahead of Jackpot!’s Prime Video release, Collider’s Steve Weintraub talks with Cena about the status of Max’s Peacemaker Season 2, and while DC has him in a “death grip,” Cena does confirm one exciting change for fans to look out for. He also talks about working alongside Jackpot! co-stars Awkwafina, Simu Liu, Seann William Scott, and his WWE farewell tour he’ll be devoting himself to in 2025.

You can watch the full conversation in the video above or read the transcript below.

Jackpot! (2024) In the near future, a ‘Grand Lottery’ has been newly established in California – the catch: kill the winner before sundown to legally claim their multi-billion dollar jackpot.Release Date August 15, 2024 Director Paul Feig Runtime 104 Minutes Writers Rob Yescombe

John Cena Confirms ‘Peacemaker’ Is Getting a New Dance Number
He also confirms DC has a death grip on him.
Image via Max

COLLIDER: You know I’m a huge fan of Peacemaker. I know you’re filming. Where are you in the filming process?

JOHN CENA: We have started.

[Laughs] I knew that part, I was wondering where you were at.

CENA: This is another way for me to dodge the question. That background is sick.

We’re not getting into my background. Here’s my other thing, Alan Tudyk told me that his wife is the one who crafts the opening dance number. Anyway, I’ve heard through the grapevine, you guys are doing a new dance number, and I’m just curious, have you been practicing? What can you tease?

CENA: I can confirm that there is a dance number and that’s it.

I’ll leave you be and say that I really hope the shoot is going well.

CENA: I can confirm that it is going exceptionally well. We’re very proud of what we have so far.

Jumping into why I actually get to talk to you…

CENA: By the way, you see how much of a death grip DC has on me? “I can confirm that. I cannot confirm that.” That’s it.

What’s interesting about it is, I usually ask questions that don’t get people into trouble, like, “how far are you in filming?”

CENA: Dude, when it comes to DC, no one gets anything. They may hear it, but they won’t hear it from me.

Listen, I respect it, and we will talk more about that later.

‘Jackpot!’ Comes from the “Brilliant and Warped” Humor of Paul Feig

One thing about Paul is that he puts in his movies people who can improvise. I’m just curious for you: Was there something you came up with spur of the moment, and it’s actually in the movie?

CENA: The blooper reel is part of the movie, so you gotta stay for the credits. Most of my stuff is in the blooper reel, which is great. It’s the way it should be because Paul has a brilliant mind as a comedian, so the stuff that he comes up with should make the cut because that’s the best stuff and those are the best jokes. But I was very happy to see some stuff in the blooper reel.

How many takes did you ruin from actually laughing because of Awkwafina and the other comedians in the film?

CENA: There wasn’t a day where we didn’t crack each other up. And it wasn’t like, “Okay, my challenge today is to break someone.” Paul’s jokes just come from out of left field. I love getting inside the minds of people with kind of a warped sense of humor, and Paul is just that. So when he runs in with his page alts, and he does it so secretly because he doesn’t want to stooge the joke off to the other person, he shows you the page, and then he’s like, “You got it? You got it? Okay.” Just to say the jokes out loud are crazy, and then to see the other person’s reaction—that’s when you get the other person, is when they’re not expecting a Paul Feig joke, and it just hits you in the face.

One of the things about Paul is that he is impeccably dressed. One of the things about you is you are impeccably dressed. But did you ever feel a challenge with Paul because he brings it every day?

CENA: So Paul is always impeccably dressed. I’ll show up to set in workout gear for convenience and efficiency; Paul will show up to set with, like, full pocket square, lapel pin, hat, boots, coat. I’m pretty sure he sleeps in a three-piece suit. This is just—I’ve dolled myself up for you, my friend. I have this look, and I have the workout look, and they’re 50/50. Paul is always done up. He’s always to the nines.

I’ve interviewed him for many, many, many years, and I have never seen him in anything other than, “Oh, he is together.”

CENA: He always looks smart, as the Brits would say. He looks very smart.

100%.

John Cena Couldn’t Wait to See Paul Feig’s Dystopia
Image via Prime Video

So, you’ve done so much action in your career and the thing about this film is that you guys were making it in a limited time frame, but there’s still a ton of action. Talk a little bit about your history with action and what that enabled you to do when you have a day or less to film a sequence that might normally take two or three days.

CENA: The key is everyone working in the machine. It’s not one person being gifted, or what they bring to the table. Our stunt team worked extremely well with the constraints that they had. They come highly decorated, they have a lot of fluency, and they put together feasible action that we could all do. I was lucky enough to take part in a lot of the action, too, which was great. But yeah, it was done in a short amount of time; that also takes everybody learning the choreography beforehand, so when you get on set, you shoot it. You’re not learning it as you go.

Sure. When you saw the shooting schedule, what day did you circle in terms of “I cannot wait to film this?”

CENA: We did a prosthetic broken nose that was fun that made it into the trailer. I thought that that was fun just because Awkwafina got to break my nose, which was fun. I wanted to see the very end of the movie. I thought that was pretty interesting. I wanted to see how they would do it because after all the action and all the comedy, it really cuts to the heart of the movie. It’s one of those where if you’re at the edge of your seat laughing, maybe one of those comedic tears is actually for the heart of the characters. I thought that was pretty cool. And I just wanted to see Paul’s view of what dystopia looked like. So when we started seeing the world, I thought that that was pretty cool, too.

You’ve done streaming and you’ve done theatrical for your releases. Is there a sense of, “Yeah, it kind of sucks that it’s not in theaters, but I also don’t have to worry about opening weekend grosses?”

CENA: No, I just think it’s two different things. As entertainment continues to evolve, I think it just becomes two different paths. You may not be as stressed out about opening weekend numbers with a streamer, but if no one watches it, you’re just not going to get another opportunity, so you still have to do good work. I don’t think it acts as a safety net; I think there’s equal pressure to both. I just think it’s a reinforcement that you should always try to focus to do the best you can.

100%.

John Cena Hits the Road for a WWE Farewell Tour
“I can probably confirm the Peacemaker will take us to the end of 2024.”
At some point, you’re gonna wrap on Peacemaker. Whenever that is, what are you thinking about for the future in terms of projects that you’re looking at, or I don’t know what you’ve committed to?

CENA: This is one thing I can give you—I can probably confirm the Peacemaker will take us to the end of 2024, and I can say that with the utmost conviction because I have given the calendar year 2025 to WWE. I am retiring in 2025, and I start that farewell tour in January and I’ll end it in December. It’s gonna be right around 36 dates around the world to pay thanks and gratitude to the WWE audiences around the world. So, that’s what I’m doing in 2025.

I gotta go, but I just have to say that I am so impressed that you’re gonna do that tour because I’ve learned so much about wrestling in the last number of years and it’s so physically taxing in a way that I don’t think the average person realizes.

CENA: Well, it’s also very rewarding, and I’m grateful. The audiences have been there for me for almost close to 25 years now, so I just wanna say thank you.

Jackpot! is available to stream on Prime Video on August 15.

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