John Cena Became a Hollywood Superstar 20 Years Ago With This Underseen War Thriller

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Published Mar 14, 2026, 4:14 PM EDT

Collier Jennings is an entertainment journalist with a substantial amount of experience under his belt. Collier, or "CJ" to his friends and family, is a dedicated fan of genre films - particularly science fiction, fantasy and comic book adaptations, not to mention all forms of animation animation. This stems from a close bond with his father, who introduced him to these genres via copies of X-Men comics and reruns of the original Ultraman series. Using his near-encyclopedic knowledge and bottomless love of genre, he's been able to tackle a wide variety of articles.

John Cena is one of the few wrestlers who has successfully made the jump to Hollywood, transforming into one of the biggest movie stars in the world seemingly overnight. Not only did he get the chance to flex his acting muscles (as well as his actual muscles) in projects like The Suicide Squad and Heads of State, but he's also proven to be quite the comedic talent. Like most wrestlers-turned-actors, Cena's first role was in the action genre, specifically the military thriller The Marine, which is now available to stream for free on Tubi.

Cena stars as former U.S. Marine John Triton, who's struggling to adjust to civilian life after he's dishonorably discharged. At the suggestion of his wife, Kate (Kelly Carlson), Triton decides to take a road trip to clear his head, but runs afoul of a robber named Rome (Robert Patrick) and his gang. Rome kidnaps Kate, sending Triton on the warpath to rescue her; in the process, he ends up inflicting bloody violence on the robbers. The Marine would go on to launch an entire franchise and propel Cena into his current superstar status, but it could have been a drastically different film that didn't feature Cena in the lead.

'The Marine' Wasn't Originally Supposed to Star John Cena

While The Marine launched John Cena's career, he wasn't the first choice to play John Triton. WWE originally sought out "Stone Cold" Steve Austin as the lead, and none other than Al Pacino as the antagonist. Austin passed due to his displeasure with the script, while runner-up Randy Orton also passed due to his own military discharge. That left Cena, but years later he'd admit in an interview that he was more focused on wrestling than filmmaking at the time:

"If I’m gonna do action, why am I doing it here? Why don’t I do it in front of 15,000 people? At the time, I didn’t realize what I was doing. I never realized I was becoming a more seasoned professional, I never realized the nuggets of wisdom I would take from my peers, I never realized what the value of that opportunity was and I chalked that one up to being young and ambitious, just not too wise."

To Cena's credit, he did manage to fit into the action hero mold, hinting at the path his career would take. The Marine also managed to overcome poor reviews and a middling box office to launch an entire film franchise, with two caveats: Cena wouldn't return to the main role, and the sequels would go directly to DVD. Ted DiBiase Jr. stepped up for The Marine 2: Homefront, while the remaining four sequels feature Mike "The Miz" Mizanin in the lead. While Cena might not have been the first choice for The Marine, he'd end up giving WWE Films one of its biggest franchises.

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John Cena Reunited With a 'Marine' Star For 'Peacemaker'

The Marine seemed like it would be destined to be nothing more than a footnote in John Cena's career, until he'd reunite with one of his co-stars years later for what's arguably one of his best projects. Peacemaker features Robert Patrick as Auggie Smith, the father of Cena's patriotic antihero. Cena and Patrick deliver some incredible performances throughout both seasons of Peacemaker, especially in Season 1's penultimate episode "Stop Dragon My Heart Around." Season 2 takes things up a notch, as Christopher Smith comes face-to-face with an alternate version of Auggie who truly loves him; the twist that Auggie lives in the fascist landscape of Earth-X hits all the harder thanks to the shifting dynamic between Cena and Smith.

John Cena has grown as an actor, and his path to Hollywood superstardom started with The Marine. It might not be an award-worthy film, but it packs enough action to make a great weekend watch, especially if you're a fan of Cena's current work.