John Cena’s reputation as an actor and a humble human being seems to be rising by the day. Since trading the kayfabe world of WWE for Hollywood scripts, The Cenation Leader has made his mark on the silver screen with starring roles in The Peacemaker and as Dominic Toretto’s brother in The Fast and Furious franchise. The man behind making the Toretto surname famous, Vin Diesel, recently opened up on how Cena got associated with the franchise.
Cena’s tryst with The Fast and Furious franchise started with F9 when he was cast as Jakob Toretto, Dom Toretto’s brother. The former WWE Champion made an impression on fans with the role, especially considering the fact that Dwayne Johnson was no longer associated with the franchise. John Cena made the character his own, and seemingly, even went the extra mile to meet Diesel to make cast himself in the role.
John Cena as Jakob Toretto in F9 The Fast Saga is so gorgeous 🖤❤️🔥 #FastAndFurious pic.twitter.com/F8jdMyc3Kv
— shelby ☽❂♃♄♇ (@oceannebulaopal) February 11, 2023
During an appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show, Diesel was asked about how John Cena ended up in the movie. Vin Diesel went on to explain that since he is “multicultural,” anybody could have been cast as his brother. He then realized that while the idea looked good on paper when it came to casting, he got anxious. He then added that Cena approached him for the role at his garage, where he was preparing for the film.
“Okay, so, obviously, I’m multicultural. You could have cast anybody to be my brother, anybody. You could have cast anybody in the world to be my brother, and it would be okay. Two months before I went to filming, I created a shrine where I could do all the combat training, all the stunts, and I had the charger there to simulate the garage. To get into this downstate of mind.”
“The idea of the brother worked great on paper, but when the time came to cast it, anxiety. Who could you cast to be Dom’s brother, and 20 years into the game and the audience knows our mythology so much. Who could you cast? And he [John Cena] comes into the shrine one morning, and I have this strange feeling, as I thanked Pablo, I had this strange feeling that Paul Walker has sent him. Very magical,” Vin Diesel said.
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Cena and Diesel reprised their roles in the Fast and Furious franchise once again as they share the screen in Fast X, which was released on May 19. While the film is set to be a trilogy and the final part of the franchise, it remains to be seen how fans will rate the performance of the film.
Dwayne Johnson will also star alongside John Cena after making a surprise return
WWE legend Dwayne Johnson broke the hearts of many fans when he announced his departure from the franchise after The Fate of the Furious and the franchise’s spinoff Hobbs and Shaw. The Rock had a falling out with Vin Diesel, who he accused the star of being unprofessional in a cryptic Instagram post. However, all beef now seems to have been swept under the carpet after Vin Diesel’s plea to him to return to the franchise.
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Dwayne Johnson seemingly refused at first but changed his mind later on. According to TheWrap, he appeared in the post-credits of Fast X. This will mark the first time John Cena and The Rock will be in the same film. Fans are already excited about what the other renditions of the film have in store.