John Cena Talks Meeting Superman Star David Corenswet and Replacing Dave Bautista as Peacemaker
Earlier this month, Superman star David Corenswet posted a viral photo of himself alongside John Cena in costume as the Man of Steel and Peacemaker’s Chris Smith.
Since Superman and Peacemaker Season 2 were filming at the same time, fans immediately began wondering if Corenswet might show up in the HBO Max series. With James Gunn teasing a massive cameo in the show’s final episodes, the timing only fueled speculation.
In a recent chat with GQ, Cena addressed the photo and explained the real story behind it. While careful not to reveal anything about potential crossovers, he opened up about why meeting Corenswet mattered to him.
"Well, I won't bury the lead, you're talking to the wrong guy because, man, I could write my own story of where I think it's going and all that does is set up expectations that might not be met. And that's just not something that I do in life.
“I can tell you the story behind David and I, and that photo where I'm dressed as Peacemaker, is I knew that they were finishing up filming Superman and I desperately wanted to meet David."
"I wanted to meet the new Superman and just lend my services, like, 'Hey, man, your life is about to change and I've heard that you've been doing an incredible job. I want to thank you because if you suck, that means DC sucks, which means we got a bigger hole to dig out of. So thank you so much for giving this your all. As someone who has been far more exposed to the media than I have formal acting training, if I can help you in any way, please, here's my number, let me know.'
"And David couldn't have been nicer. He's an absolute class act, and James couldn't have made a better choice. I'm so glad everything went well [with Superman], because he had earned that.
“I don't use the word 'deserve.' He has absolutely earned whatever success and future opportunities he's been given. I really wanted to meet Superman and offer my help and services in any way."
"David is Superman. That's not something you take lightly. Peacemaker is a new guy, [or] an unknown character coming from the annals of wherever. James himself was like, 'Don't read the comic. I'm going to make this guy my own.'
“So, completely clean slate. But there are names in the superhero realm where you just can't fake it. They have a weight of importance before you even say your first word, and Superman is certainly one of those. So I really just want to meet Superman."
While Cena clearly has a lot of respect for Corenswet, he also addressed another big piece of trivia: Guardians of the Galaxy star Dave Bautista was actually Gunn’s first choice to play Peacemaker in The Suicide Squad. Bautista had to step away due to scheduling conflicts, which led Gunn to Cena.
Cena made it clear he never felt slighted about being second choice.
"Well, I mean, first of all, I could care less about being anybody's first, second, third or fourth pick. Opportunity in life comes to you in a myriad of different ways, and if I wanted to be salty about like, 'Oh, I wasn't first pick, that's beneath me.' I wouldn't have ever gotten a chance. And keep in mind I got killed off in The Suicide Squad."
"I mean, in filming that movie with James, we developed a friendship and I think I checked a lot of boxes of people he likes to work with professionally. And on top of that, we developed a relationship personally and we do stay in a lot of the same lanes."
"I think he saw nuance in the performance he was able to bring out of me,'" Cena said of how Peacemaker went from being a one-off to him having a recurring role in the DCU.
"'There's more to this guy. And as a storyteller and as someone who puts words on paper and wants to bring those words to life and be prolific and have depth, I think this guy can help me out and I'd like to try to work with him again.' So that's why I ended up in the hospital instead of the morgue."
As Peacemaker season 2 continues, speculation remains high about Superman showing up before the finale. Beyond the series, the expectation is that Cena’s Peacemaker will appear in Superman: Man of Tomorrow. Whether or not he gets a third solo season, it seems Chris Smith is firmly locked into the DCU’s future.