Coming off of his role as Peacemaker in The Suicide Squad, John Cena would make an excellent choice to play The Thing in Marvel’s upcoming Fantastic Four reboot. As of now, Cena has not appeared in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but now that he’s a part of the DCEU and the Fast & Furious franchise, it’s just a matter of time before he enters this blockbuster franchise as well. While there’s great discussion over who should play Reed Richards and Sue Storm in the movie, there hasn’t been enough talk about Cena possibly playing Ben Grimm, aka The Thing.
Of course, I’m far from the first person to suggest John Cena for the role. His name has come up often with Marvel fans doing fantasy casting on social media for a long time. Back in 2018, the famous digital artist BossLogic emerged as one of the earliest supporters of Cena starring in the MCU’s Fantastic Four reboot by releasing fan art of the wrestler as Ben Grimm. The artwork also included John Krasinski as Reed Richards aka Mister Fantastic, Emily Blunt as Sue Storm aka Invisible Woman, and Zac Efron as Johnny Storm aka Human Torch.
RELATED: Emily Blunt Shuts Down Fantastic Four Rumors: I Don’t Know If Superhero Movies Are for Me
The Fantastic Four – MCU @MarvelStudios@johnkrasinski#EmilyBlunt@ZacEfron@JohnCena#FantasticFourpic.twitter.com/Ij1VOQT2KN
— BossLogic (@Bosslogic) April 7, 2018
Unfortunately for the fans wanting to see Emily Blunt cast as Invisible Woman, the star of A Quiet Place recently shut down rumors that she was in talks for the part. Appearing on The Howard Stern Show this week to promote A Quiet Place Part II, Blunt was asked about the rumors and if it was true she’d be playing Sue Storm. Not only does she quash the rumor, but the actress goes so far as to admit she doesn’t like superhero movies, and it would have to take a particularly exciting character to entice her to sign on.
“That is fan-casting. No one has received a phone call. That’s just people saying, ‘Wouldn’t that be great?'” Blunt explained. “I don’t know if superhero movies are for me. They’re not up my alley. I don’t like them. I really don’t… It’s been exhausted. We are inundated-it’s not only all the movies, it’s the endless TV shows as well.”
Blunt added: “It’s not to say that I’d never want to play one, it would just have to be something so cool and like a really cool character, and then I’d be interested.”
We can presume Cena would be more open to appearing in something like Fantastic Four than Blunt. In August, he’ll be appearing in The Suicide Squad as Peacemaker, a role he’ll portray in his own spinoff series from James Gunn at HBO Max. Cena has also teased his potential casting as the Spider-Man villain Sandman by sharing fan art of him as the character. He hasn’t yet made his debut in the MCU, but after Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) stepped down as Captain America in Avengers: Endgame, Cena even volunteered to play the next Captain America.
“If it’s out there, if the Captain America people are listening, and you’re out there watching right now, I’ll totally do it. I totally will,” Cena said on Ellen in 2019. “I think I’d be a good Captain America. And I’ve already ruined everybody’s childhood, so it can’t get any worse.”
The next Captain America movie will move forward with Anthony Mackie taking on the mantle, so Cena’s desire to take that particular role may not have been meant to be. Still, if he was that stoked about coming into the MCU, chances are he’d be open to playing another Marvel superhero like The Thing. Maybe many of his fans might be joking about how they can only see three of the Fantastic Four when the reboot arrives if Cena gets the role, but all kidding aside, he seems rather perfect for the part.
No release date has been set for Fantastic Four, but we’re not going to see it any earlier than 2023. As for what’s next for Cena, he can be seen as Peacemaker when The Suicide Squad premieres in theaters and on HBO Max on Aug. 6, 2021. The awesome fan art above comes to us from BossLogic.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Movieweb.
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