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“I Wasn’t Really Proud of…”: A Hollywood Veteran for 17 Years, John Cena Still Wished to Remake This One Movie

Published 09/13/2023, 10:30 AM EDT

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John Cena is a famous figure in both the wrestling world and Hollywood. He began his wrestling journey in 1999. He even had a brief, uncredited appearance in the 2000 comedy film Ready to Rumble. However, Cena officially entered the world of acting in 2006.

After his official debut in Hollywood, the star has acted in several high-budget movies, including venturing into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Despite his success, however, Cena still hopes to remake his earliest movie.

John Cena on his Hollywood debut

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John Cena opened up on the In the Envelope: The Actor’s Podcast about his regrets regarding his time working on his debut film “The Marine.” He expressed a desire to revisit the franchise, acknowledging that he didn’t give it his all during his initial involvement.

“I’ve always wanted to do another Marine because so many folks talk to me about The Marine,” said Cena, going on to say, “I can’t believe it. And it was actually something I wasn’t really proud of because that’s a situation where I look back and say I didn’t give my all.” Cena admitted that, as a young man, he was drawn to the allure of the rock star lifestyle and the thrill of performing in front of massive crowds. 

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“As a young man, I wanted to be in the middle of the rock star life. I wanted to be in front of those sold-out crowds,” he said. However, his experience on the film set was the complete opposite of what he was expecting. Talking about his first experience on set, he said “And then I get to a quiet movie set where everything takes forever and I just didn’t have the wisdom or the knowledge or the perception to realize how big of an opportunity it was,” he said, implying that he still considers the movie as a missed opportunity.

“The Marine” is one of the few WWE Studios films to grace the big screen. It followed the fictional tale of a discharged marine embarking on a solitary quest to save his kidnapped wife. In 2004, they scripted Cena’s absence from TV so that he could work on the movie. In this storyline, Carlito’s bodyguard Jesus “stabbed” Cena in the kidney, thus signing him off from the ring. But with this confession of Cena, one thing comes up, the history WWE Studios had with filmmaking.

The curious case of WWE Studios

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What is the likelihood of Cena being able to remake The Marine? With many of WWE’s stars making a foray into Hollywood, including Dave Bautista, and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, the promotion clearly saw a way to profit. The promotion brainstormed the creation of WWE Studios, which has had quite a few blockbusters. However, most of the promotion’s movies have been dumped on by critics, with The Marine’s sequels featuring stars like Raw star The Miz, and Randy Orton going under the radar.

However, the studio’s luck seems to be looking up. They’ve made the smart move of featuring their wrestlers in animated movies. Especially those of beloved cartoon characters like Scooby-Doo. Instead of putting their stars in unfamiliar roles, they teamed up with popular franchises, appealing to kids who loved seeing WWE wrestlers alongside iconic animated characters. WWE’s influence extends beyond the wrestling ring, reaching into the world of entertainment through film.

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With this success, it could be that WWE may revisit Cena’s debut to allow him a chance to remake the movie for the better. What do you think about a remake of The Marine?

Watch This Story: Deep Dive Into Hollywood Star and WWE Legend John Cena’s Lifestyle

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Written by:

Shaikh Aerajuddin

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Shaikh Aerajuddin is a WWE writer at EssentiallySports. With a Masters degree in Sports Science, Aeraj always carries a keen eye for detail and understands the various nuances of pro wrestling beyond the ring. Being a pro wrestling fan from his childhood, Aeraj now uses his analytical mind to tell a story in his articles for ES.
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Edited by:

Donna Eva