John Cena frequently was almost always in costume when promoting The Suicide Squad and spinoff series Peacemaker, and the wrestler-turned-actor has finally explained why.
In an interview with People, the entertainer covered a range of topics like the show’s second season, a potential crossover with Dwayne Johnson’s Black Adam, and the iconic garb Cena has trotted out all around the world. He said the reason why it’s been so common to see him in costume is that he wanted audiences to become familiar with the character, and such a strategy comes from his days playing a caricature of himself in WWE.
“There were so many characters and so many personalities. I just wanted to try to familiarize the audience with my little piece, pun intended. It’s very similar to the approach that I used with the WWE when I was performing full-time there. I would be in all interviews in the John Cena outfit of a ball cap, T-shirt, shorts and wristbands.
People began to associate that character and become familiar with that character. A lot of people may shy away from that approach because it doesn’t … it’s not indicative of who they are, and it’s not who I am, but that’s Peacemaker. Whether that’s what worked or not, I don’t know.”
Cena’s work alongside James Gunn has certainly struck a chord with the public, with the Peacemaker creator revealing the season 1 finale had the biggest one-day performance for an HBO Max original series, with viewership jumping by 44% compared to the premiere.
A release date for Peacemaker’s now-confirmed second season is unknown, but we do know that Gunn will be writing and directing every episode.