Officially, John Cena has yet to retire from his career as a WWE wrestler. But Cena’s continued success in Hollywood is certainly keeping him busy. Deadline is reporting that Cena is set to star in Officer Exchange, a new action-comedy in development at Amazon Studios.
According to the report, Cena’s character is “a wrecking ball of a cop” named Shepard, or “Shep,” for short. As the title implies, Shep will be taking part in an officer exchange before finding himself trying to take down a diamond-smuggling ring in India alongside an Indian police officer.
Aside from his starring role in HBO Max’s Peacemaker, Cena is best known for his feature film appearances in The Suicide Squad, F9: The Fast Saga, Bumblebee, Trainwreck, Blockers, and Daddy’s Home. HBO Max recently renewed Peacemaker for a second season, but it’s unclear when it will begin filming.
Officer Exchange will also serve as a reunion for Cena and two of the producers of the HBO Max show: Executive producer Peter Safran and producer John Richard from The Safran Company. The presence of The Safran Company on Officer Exchange is somewhat surprising since the company is usually behind several of Warner Bros. Pictures’ major releases, including The Conjuring and its spinoffs, and the upcoming Shazam! Fury of the Gods and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.
Cena is also set to executive produce Officer Exchange. A director isn’t in place yet, but the script has already been written by Ben Zazove and Evan Turner. Zazove and Turner previously collaborated on The Out-Laws, a Netflix original comedy film that is currently in post-production.
