John Cena Refused To Take His Peacemaker Uniform Off For A Great Reason
John Cena kept his Peacemaker uniform on even when he wasn't filming the show for a pretty funny, yet effective, reason.
This article is more than 2 years old
To say that John Cena fully embodied the role of Peacemaker through the events of The Suicide Squad and the first season of the titular series is a total understatement. He was so much this character that it’s almost tough to now picture the guy out of the uniform. It’s a testament to what he brought to the character and what perfect casting this was on the part of creator James Gunn and company. And it looks like one of the reasons John Cena was so great was that he wanted to channel a certain WWE energy to things, basically refusing to take off the outfit/ uniform whenever he was doing interviews and press about the series.
Coming from an interview with People (via CBR), John Cena explained why it was that he kept that amazing Peacemaker outfit on throughout all of his press interviews leading up to, and during the series. The answer was pretty simple and completely effective. Basically, he knew that the character was relatively new on the scene even for comic book fans and he needed to leave a lasting impression on new folks. The best way to do this was to essentially stay in character, getting people used to seeing him in the role even when it wasn’t necessarily on-screen in the series. Check out what John Cena had to say:
“It’s very similar to the approach that I use with the WWE when I was performing full-time there. I would be in all interviews in the John Cena outfit of a ball cap, T-shirt, shorts and wristbands. People began to associate that character and become familiar with that character. That’s just the same approach I used in Peacemaker…I wanted the audience to be familiar with Peacemaker.”
This approach makes complete sense and it’s interesting to see how John Cena translated another type of performance into this role. No, WWE and a hit HBO Max series aren’t the same things. But the tenants of promotion and popularity do remain the same when trying to bring about massive exposure for a relatively new character. In this case, John Cena definitely had an approach that you won’t see from many other actors and actresses. But that’s because his background is much different than many others in the industry. He’d been playing a live-action “character” for years in the wrestling ring, formulating a certain persona to play for the fans. When translating the same ideas to the character of Peacemaker, who in a lot of ways is like a professional wrestler, the strategy was more than sound.
This approach by John Cena was likely just one small reason that Peacemaker was a complete hit for HBO Max. Coming out of The Suicide Squad in which Cena stole nearly every scene he was in, James Gunn developed a series that really explored the humanity behind the character in epically hilarious comic book fashion. The show was a complete triumph from the writing, acting, story, musical choices, jokes, and more. It wasn’t a surprise at all to find out that it was quickly picked up for a second season.
It’s not totally clear when John Cena, along with Danielle Brooks, Jennifer Holland, Freddie Stroma, and Steve Agee will make their way back to the small screen for another round of ridiculous adventures, hard rock, dyed beards, pet eagles, and more. But when it does it should be glorious. Maybe this time around Peacemaker will be well known enough that Cena can finally take off the uniform.
