MOVIE NEWS – In the past, Michael Chiklis played Ben Grimm, aka The Thing, in a pair of Fantastic Four films in 2005 and 2007. Jamie Bell reprised the role in 2015’s Fantastic Four reboot, a one-off performance with no sequel ever made.

Marvel has since announced plans to reboot The Fantastic Four again for the MCU, meaning the role is up for grabs again.

Previously, we touched on the possibility of Jean Cena as Ben Grimm with an editorial about how the actor and WWE legend would be perfect for it. The suggestion has since made its way to Cena, and it seems that one of the stars of the breakout Suicide Squad is open to joining the MCU with The Fantastic Four. From a new Q&A video with Esquire, here’s what Cena said when asked if he’d consider playing the thing in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Cena, who still plays in the WWE and stars in blockbuster films, can currently be seen in James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad. Marking his DCEU debut, Cena’s performance as Peacemaker has been hailed as one of the film’s most outstanding actors. He will also star in his eight-episode Peacemaker episode for HBO Max early next year, so there’s plenty more Cena to come in the DCEU.

Meanwhile, Cena has yet to make his debut in the MCU. It seems inevitable now that he regularly appears in blockbuster films, but it’s hard to say when that might happen. There are plenty of projects in the works, both for theatres and on Disney+, that offer all sorts of opportunities to bring Cena into the fold. With many fans already sold on the idea of Cena as Ben Grimm, it might be best to sign him up for Fantastic Four.

The Fantastic Four doesn’t have a release date, but we know it will be a minute before the superhero quartet returns to the big screen. It will serve as the final film of phase four of the MCU, coming after the 2023 releases of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. That means we won’t see The Fantastic Four until the end of the year at the earliest, if not 2024. Either way, it could be some time before the film is released, whether or not Cena is involved.

For now, fans can watch Cena as the Peacemaker in James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad, available in theatres and on HBO Max. He will return for more when Peacemaker premieres on HBO Max in January 2022. Cena can also be seen as an active wrestler on WWE programming available on Peacock.

Source: Esquire