John Cena plays Kenmaid in “Barbie,” in theaters July 21
John Cena’s mermaid Barbie character has been unveiled!
The actor, 46, spoke about the movie in a new behind-the-scenes featurette shared by Warner Bros., appearing in his Kenmaid costume.
“I was blown away with the concept,” he said while shirtless in the clip, showing off his long blond hair for the role. “I think it’s gonna be a movie that all audiences enjoy. I think it’s gonna be a movie that evokes conversation. And I think it’s going to beautifully visually appealing.”
“And the ideas behind it, I think the audience will walk away with, like, a mixed bag of opinions, which I think is the greatest form of entertainment,” he added, sharing that he thinks Barbie will launch a “fiery debate.”
While on the Today show in May to promote Fast X, Cena shared the story of how he wound up with a role in the upcoming Margot Robbie movie, calling it a “happy accident” that he “kind of” pitched himself.
“I think Barbie and Fast X share a lot of parallels. Their cast lists are amazing. … So with a lot of opportunity, it was a chance for maybe to, ‘Hey, would you guys be willing to have me if I could do something?’ ” Cena told Hoda Kotb at the time.
“In an accidental run-in with Margot Robbie, I said, ‘I will pretty much do whatever you guys need, ’cause I really enjoy the movie.’ And they asked me if I wanted to be a merman. I said yeah, sure,” he recalled.
Cena, who worked with Robbie on 2021’s The Suicide Squad, said the encounter happened when they “literally randomly ran into each other as friends,” and Fast X was filming “across the street” from Barbie.
Dua Lipa also plays a mermaid in Barbie, which features a star-studded cast that includes: Ryan Gosling, Kate McKinnon, Will Ferrell, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Scott Evans, Simu Liu, Ncuti Gatwa, Hari Nef, Emma Mackey, Anna Cruz Kayne, Sharon Rooney, Issa Rae, Nicola Coughlan, Alexandra Shipp, Ritu Arya, Emerald Fennell, Michael Cera, America Ferrera, Ariana Greenblatt, Connor Swindells and Jamie Demetriou. Helen Mirren is the narrator.
Barbie, directed by Greta Gerwig, is in theaters July 21.
