First rumored back in January, it looks like John Cena has accepted the role of Duke Nukem in the upcoming yet-to-be-scripted film based on the titular character. An interview with producers Andrew Form and Brad Fuller on Cinema Blend revealed that they’ve got the WWE superstar on lock for the part.
Yeah, that’s what we’re working with now. He is. Yes. We don’t have a script yet, so that is confirmed at this point but if he reads the script and he doesn’t like the script I’m sure there’s ways that he could pull out, but right now he’s our guy.
When talking about the tone of the movie, Form and Fuller discussed being inspired by the R-rated comedy antics of Tim Miller’s Deadpool. The producers want to make sure that Duke Nukem, much like Deadpool, fits the spirit and character of the original source material while also making meaningful advancements for a modern-day audience. The character is extreme in every sense of the word, from his misogynistic personality to his “badass masculinity.” Form and Fuller are being cautious to balance those elements.
We are working on Duke Nukem right now. It’s going to be about tone. That’s about tone. How do you nail that tone in the way that Deadpool nailed the tone? I think we have to do that and if we don’t get the tone right then we’re not going to make the movie.
You know that having a misogynistic guy in today’s world, how do you make that fun and lovable and at the same time he’s got to be an incredible badass, so those are the things that we’re struggling with and we’re going to try and come out with what I hope is a really fun ride. That’s the goal, is for it to be a really fun ride.
It’s possible that, much like Tim Miller did with Deadpool and Ryan Reynolds, the Duke Nukem movie could capitalize on John Cena’s own personality to help flavor the character. Cena has traditionally tried to project more of a nice-guy image. Whatever they choose to do, it will be interesting to see how the producers attempt to handle a volatile character like Duke Nukem in today’s environment.
[Source: Cinema Blend]
