From Peacemaker to… President? Yes, you read that right. After playing the righteous, flag-flying Christopher Smith in James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad spin-off, John Cena is taking a different spin on patriotism in his new film The Independent, which sees him switch the toilet-seat helmet for a sharp suit as he strives to make it to the Oval Office. Feast your eyes on this exclusive image of Cena as presidential hopeful Nate Sterling, garnering support for his campaign at a rally:
Directed by Amy Rice and written by Evan Parter, The Independent is set during the last few weeks of an extremely significant US presidential race, with the country about to elect either its first female POTUS (played by Ann Dowd), or its first viable independent candidate, aka Cena’s character Nate. Covering the election is an idealistic young journalist (Queen & Slim’s Jodie Turner-Smith), who teams up with experienced reporter Nick (Succession’s Brian Cox) to uncover a conspiracy that puts the outcome of the vote – and the consequences for the country – in their hands.
It’s a subject area ripe for thrills, intrigue and interesting characters, and gives Cena a chance to move away from the man-child protagonist of Peacemaker towards someone who clearly knows how to charm a nation, having made his way to the final stage in the election despite not being associated with any political party. And, whilst the presence of Peacemaker’s much-loved sidekick Eagly may seem a bit incongruous with the rest of The Independent, it could still happen – the bald eagle is the national bird of America, after all. We’ll find out when it arrives on Sky Cinema later this year.