John Cena Is Facing Off Against Simu Liu In A Death Lottery Comedy Movie
John Cena and Simu Liu will be appearing together in the action comedy Grand Death Lotto.
Action-comedy flicks have produced a number of iconic if unlikely duos: Rush Hour’s Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker and The Other Guys‘ Will Farrell and Mark Wahlberg are perfect examples of how this can garner wonderful results. Now, according to Deadline, another action comedy is bringing together another likely pair that appears more than promising. Simu Liu and John Cena will star in the Paul Feig-directed action comedy film Grand Death Lotto.
From the mind of Rob Yescombe, the premise of the film is that California has instated a Grand Lottery system where participants need to kill the winner to claim the prize. When Katie (Awkwafina) finds out that she is the winner, she must survive until sundown while contending with the antics of rival jackpot winner protectors Noel (Cena) and Louis Lewis (Liu).
The film sounds like an absolute romp. Writer Rob Yescombe is known for the films The Invisible Hours and Outside the Wire, while director Paul Feig is known for a number of films including Bridesmaids, Last Christmas, The Heat, and the recent Ghostbusters franchise adaptation.
The pairing of John Cena and Simu Liu should be a fruitful one. Both actors have experience in both action and comedy, and should serve as good foils to one another.
John Cena may have initially become known to most fans during his time as an American professional wrestler and 13-time WWE champion, but he has steadily been building a portfolio of film and television appearances. Cena’s appearances in the Fast & Furious franchise starting with F9 and the DC Universe starting with The Suicide Squad and reprised in the HBO spinoff series Peacemaker have endeared him to audiences.
Simu Liu is no stranger to action movies or the Marvel Cinematic Universe, starring as the titular Shang-Chi in Shan-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. He rose to prominence when he starred in the Canadian television comedy series Kim’s Convenience.
John Cena and Simu Liu pair are bolstered by the comedic chops of Awkwafina, who is a comedic force in her own right. She initially rose to prominence after her show-stealing performance in Crazy Rich Asians. She again garnered critical attention for her starring role in The Farewell, for which she won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical, the first woman of Asian descent to do so in any lead actress film category.
The Grand Death Lotto’s premise is highly intriguing, and not something audiences have quite seen before. With this promising trio helming the film, an engaging premise, and showrunners with a record of success, viewers will want to keep track of the film as it moves into production.
