John Cena Was Shocked to Book a DC Role After Getting Rejected from Every Superhero Franchise Ever
It may have taken him literal years, but John Cena kept trying to bag a superhero role — but when he was finally offered a gig after numerous rejections, he was at a loss for words.
John Cena’s career developed similarly to The Rock’s but admittedly faster: if you blinked at the wrong time, you might have missed the moment when this iconic wrestler suddenly became an actor and a businessman. At one point, Cena just decided it was time to conquer Hollywood — and conquer Hollywood he did.
The actor has undertaken numerous projects and even fulfilled every tough guy’s sacred obligation by joining Vin Diesel ’s Fast & Furious franchise.
But when he already had quite the track record, John Cena was struggling with one major aspiration of his: he desperately wanted to join a superhero franchise and flex his abilities.
Marvel and DC, however, had different plans: the actor kept getting rejected over and over again. Despite all these failures, Cena never wanted to give up, so he, in turn, kept showing up to auditions for various superhero projects… to no avail.
“I can’t tell you how many superhero roles I’ve been rejected for. Shazam is certainly one. But there was a brief try at the Deadpool Universe. Rejection. There were a few in the Marvel Universe. Rejected. But, you know, I kept trying,” the actor shared with Josh Horowitz.
But finally, thanks to Cena’s persistence, he booked a role in the DCEU and couldn’t believe it was real. After so many rejections, he was offered to play Peacemaker, and the actor was the happiest person on the planet at that moment.
“We sat down in [James Gunn ’s] pre-production office, <...> and he started talking about Peacemaker, and he’s like, ‘I think you should do it.’ So I’m not rejected? They usually say, like, ‘Hey, love you, man, but we’re just going in another direction,’” Cena explained.
Well, it’s just another example of John Cena making his dream come true, isn’t it? First, he went from wrestler to actor, and then, he became a superhero. This story is nothing if not inspiring, especially considering how many times Cena failed his auditions before finally putting on the Peacemaker’s costume.
Source: Josh Horowitz via YouTube