John Cena Wanted To Play Shazam Role

Hollywood loves John Cena, and there is no denying his name has big credibility right now. That being said, there were a few bumps along the way, despite how his career has gone at this point.

John Cena’s exceptional performance as Peacemaker has solidified him in the role, making it difficult to envision anyone else taking on the iconic character. After multiple attempts, he finally secured the role and has since demonstrated his ability to portray a diverse range of characters. That’s not to say there were roles he wanted that he didn’t get.

During an interview on The Happy Sad Confused podcast in January 2022, John Cena revealed his fandom for Shazam made him want to portray the character. While opening up to Josh Horowitz, Cena enthusiastically shared his interest in the role.

“I can’t tell you how many superhero roles I’ve been rejected for. Shazam is certainly one. I think like a child, so Shazam was super interesting to me…And when I read the script, a lot of times, like… this is the thing, I don’t chase ‘I want to do this,’ I always have to read it.”

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Zachary Levi took on the role of Shazam in the 2019 film Shazam! and returned to reprise his character in the 2023 sequel, Shazam! Fury of the Gods. John Cena got the Peacemaker role, so it wasn’t a total loss.

When it comes to taking a comic book role in general, the John Cena said at the time that, “There was a brief try at the Deadpool universe, rejection. There were a few in the Marvel universe, rejected. But you know, I keep trying.”

John Cena’s path in Hollywood isn’t slowing down, and audiences love his mainstream appeal. Only time will tell what’s next for him, but there is also a belief out there that he might outshine The Rock in time.

We will keep our eye on John Cena, and everything else involving his legendary career, here at Ringside News. We also invite you to chime in by using the comments below to let us know what you think!