John Cena is in talks to star in the movie adaptation of ‘Duke Nukem’.
The 40-year-old WWE wrestler-and-actor is reportedly in negotiations to star in the big-screen adaptation of the popular first-person shooter video game series which began in 1991.
Although no script or director is on board at the moment, the new movie is set to be produced by Platinum Dunes – the company run by Michael Bay, Andrew Form and Brad Fuller.
The games series follows the adventures of the muscular, cigar-chomping titular character who has been fighting aliens in order to save the Earth since the 90s.
Nukem as a character is inspired by several Hollywood action legends such as Dolph Lundgren, Jean-Claude Van Damme and Arnold Schwarzenegger.
The most famous line he utters in the games is "I have come here to chew bubble gum and kick ass. And I’m all out of bubble gum" comes from John Carpenter’s 1988 cult classic ‘They Live’ in which late WWE legend ‘Rowdy’ Roddy Piper’s character John Nada says the same words.
Originally the project was set up at Dimension Films, but the rights fell through and Paramount picked up them up from Gearbox Software – who produced the games.
Cena’s movie career is taking off after working alongside Mark Wahlberg and Will Ferrell in the ‘Daddy’s Home’ movies and Amy Schumer in comedy ‘Trainwreck’.
Recently the WWE Superstar revealed he has been hired to voice a bad guy in the new animated series ‘Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’, which is being broadcast on the network later this year, and he is relishing the experience.
Cena – who also voiced a character in the 2017 movie ‘Ferdinand’ – explained: "I’ve kind of fell in love with voicing characters, as it really is so magical when you see the work of the animator and your voice come together. This is especially fun as I get to be a bad guy, which is not normal for me, so I was really drawn to being a villain, especially with the iconic ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ brand and Nickelodeon."
He also revealed that his character, Baron Draxum, is totally new to the ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ world.
He told TheWrap: "The universe is kind of being redesigned and I think the audience is going to love it. It will be a new version of the main villain of ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’."
John Cena in talks to star in Duke Nukum movie
