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Movie Preview 013
John Cena
is
DUKE NUKEM
Paramount
[?]
Project Viability = 70% with the rising star in John Cena and a known IP.
As another by-product of WWE that successfully transition over into the movie industry following on Dwayne 'the Rock' Johnson's footsteps, John Cena is hitting his strides with a memorable role in Trainwreck and xxx, finally landing a co-lead role in the Transformers spinoff, Bumblebee, alongside Hayley Steinfeld is a big step forward for his career trajectory. With that film's production going smoothly, he's being in the good grace of the studio once again by (reportedly) landing his first lead role for a Duke Nukem live action adaptation. This speaks volume of his stature in the cutthroat industry although whether or not they would faithfully adapt the character is another matter altogether, especially considering his demography of his fans that carry over from his time in the ring into the cinemas, i.e. Ferdinand. Furthermore, Duke is a caricature of typical action hero of the bygone era enveloping both game and movie industry being turned up to eleven, for better or for worse (definitely the latter), a satire full of violence, sex and toxic masculinity that would certainly being frowned upon in today's much more mindful culture. It all depends on the execution ...
Chance of Success =
60% with the heavy baggage of the franchise but optimism with John Cena.
60% with the heavy baggage of the franchise but optimism with John Cena.
The wrestler-turned-actor is in negotiations to star in Duke Nukem, a big-screen adaptation set up at Paramount of the popular video game franchise featuring a politically incorrect action hero.
Platinum Dunes, the company run by Michael Bay, Andrew Form and Brad Fuller, will produce.
No director is on board at this stage. A search for a writer will begin soon to develop a script for what is intended to be a starring vehicle for Cena.
The Nukem video games follow the muscular adventures of their titular protagonist, who initially was a mashup of action-hero tropes. The cigar-chomping figure has been fighting aliens in order to save planet Earth since 1991, when the first game was released.
The project was previously set up at Dimension Films, but after the rights lapsed Paramount picked them up from Gearbox Software, the company behind the game.
Platinum Dunes is one of the companies behind the Purge action franchise and has produced the Ninja Turtles movies for Paramount. It next has the John Krasinski-directed horror movie A Quiet Place, which is set to open April 6.
Cena has quietly made Paramount his de facto movie home, having appeared in the studio's Daddy's Home 2, which has grossed over $100 million domestically; he also is set to appear in Bumblebee, the studio's Transformers spinoff, which Bay produced.
~ the Hollywood Reporter ~
a case for the rising second coming of a wrestler-turned-actor:
+ Highlights +
The most charismatic individual and once-in-a-lifetime talent coming off WWE after the success of Dwayne 'the Rock' Johnson and now following in his predecessor's footsteps with his own particular brand, showcasing his natural gift of comedic timing and addictive personality in Trainwreck and possibly the upcoming Bumblebee,
~
A more versatile acting potential comparatively with his better comedic chops allowing him to be casted as more than just the typical action hero ... although this particular project should be the perfect platform to showcase that!
? Main contention ?
As he is dwindling down his in-ring career (which is punctuated last night with his entry in the Elimination Chamber ... certainly paving the way for him to surpass Ric Flair's Championship record on Wrestlemania no less! After Bumblebee, you can be certain that he is ready to take a full plunge into the movie industry after that.
- Lowlights -
The stigma of a wrestler trying to change his profession would always be there although his and Dwayne's efforts in surpassing that preconception would certainly helps ... who could be the next talent though? Any thoughts?
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a case for the embodiment of a politically incorrect macho gun-wielding action superhero:
+ Highlights +
From the first inception by the now defunked 3D Realms, it is running meta commentary of the action genre in the pop culture and an admittedly effective tongue-in-cheek execution of the overblown and over-the-top premise with great first person shooter experience and the satisfaction of using violence over world-threatening force.
? Main contention ?
It's been a running joke in the gaming industry whereby the unintentionally prolonged production of Duke Nukem Forever that hit a lot of unfortunate bumps along the road (i.e. changing of engines, bankrupted developer) resulted in a surprisingly competent end product by Gearbox Software ... it could have been so much better. With that being said, the last impression it left isn't exactly of a positive nature. Why it's chosen to adapted then?
- Lowlights -
Well... the violence fit the bill if you remember that this is the version they are going for but the treatment of women though ... it was never right in the first place but it was never being discussed before as the audience wasn't that aware of the objectification that it seemed before that we were okay with that level of sexism.
a case for the inexplicable adaptation of a forgotten hero of yesteryears:
+ Highlights +
John Cena is perfect for the titular shade-wearing, blonde-bleached, cigar-chomping, gun-wielding protagonist ... he just needs to turn up his arrogance to the nth degree since he already have the similar physique. He could naturally throw out those one-liners while disposing the alien scum. This could be his Jumanji!
? Main contention ?
For better or for worse, Duke Nukem is the mainstay of the genre and the infamous symbol of the industry for years before and would still be quoted as one of the examples by the casual fans that are not actively playing every game coming out each year. It is understandable that the studio would want to use an intellectual property that is already widely known and have an established audience ... but with a heavy baggage attached to it.
~
Without any writer and director yet to be attached to the film, it is still up in the air the direction they would go with this volatile property: whether they would go all in by being rated R and adapt the game exactly as it is with all the violence, profanities and misogynistic elements coming along with it, or they would do a PG-13 version of the controversial character by cutting out all the aforementioned offensive materials while keeping the arrogant and quippy persona intact since he could play that perfectly to a tee. I will prefer the latter and it means he won't alienate the young demography that made him a positive role model over the years (see my post before).
- Lowlights -
The still ongoing game-to-movie curse does not appear to be slowing down anytime soon although Welcome to the Jungle is a step in the right direction (even though it's not actually based on a real game, instead a wonderful commentary of the 90's game's format ... the same can be said of Wreck-It Ralph) while Alicia Vikander's Tomb Raider and Dwayne Johnson's Rampage would try to follow suit. You can't say Hollywood isn't giving their all!
~
Being associated with (or owned actually by) Michael Bay, Platinum Dunes is perfect for this action-oriented premise with absurd amount of testosterone and almost criminal level of patriotism although their track record in handling women leaves much to be desired ... let's hope John Cena would be keen to break that negative trend.
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- Synopsis -
It's Duke Nukem. He fights the invasion of pig aliens alone, all by himself. That's it! Don't know about the movie yet ...
Cast
It's Duke Nukem. He fights the invasion of pig aliens alone, all by himself. That's it! Don't know about the movie yet ...
Cast
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