For any fan of action films, it is always cool when big action stars come together in a movie to kick more ass and blow more things up than they ever could on their own. As John Cena sees his star power continue to rise on the silver screen just like Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson before him, it was only a matter of time until he united in a movie with an action legend. He will soon do so when he teams up with martial arts and cinematic icon Jackie Chan for a new action thriller.
Act of Valor and Need for Speed director Scott Waugh will direct the film that was previously titled Ex-Baghdad, and is now under the working title Project X. As reported by THR, the action thriller, from writer Arash Amel, will see Jackie Chan's character as a private security contractor called in to extract the workers from a Chinese oil refinery in the Middle East when it comes under attack. Like in Die Hard, he discovers that these terrorists are really thieves who plan to steal the oil from the refinery. To thwart the dastardly plan to steal the liquid gold, Jackie Chan's contractor will team up with an American and former Marine played by John Cena. The wrestler and actor replaces action legend Sylvester Stallone, who was originally attached to play the character.
John Cena has been proving himself in comedy roles of late, so it will be interesting to see him get back to action in a co-lead role opposite Jackie Chan. Likewise, Jackie Chan has always excelled in fun comedic pairings with other actors, and while this film will not be a comedy, the dynamic between the two stars and their distinct and entertaining action styles are the main draw of this movie. As far as the premise of the movie, we don't get see action movies take place on oil refineries, so I'm excited to see all the creative ways Jackie Chan's character disposes of bad guys.
John Cena's next big role comes in December's Transformers spinoff film Bumblebee. He is also taking over for Dwayne Johnson in the role of Paul Janson in the Robert Ludlum novel adaptation The Janson Directive. Dwayne Johnson will remain on as producer, but we'll have to wait a little longer to see these two wrestlers, actors and human mountains onscreen together. As for Jackie Chan, he was last seen domestically opposite Pierce Brosnan in The Foreigner. Jackie Chan is also lined up to go on something of a greatest hits remix tour when he stars in Rush Hour 4 and Shanghai Dawn, which are both in development.
We'll keep you updated on all the latest from this dynamic action pairing and keep an eye on CinemaBlend for all of your movie news.
