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John Cena -- who has become synonymous with the phrase "you can't see me" -- stars in a show where fans really almost didn't see him. It was recently revealed that Cena's role as the titular figure in "Peacemaker," which returned for its second season in August, was originally written for another WWE star. In an interview with Howard Stern on Sept. 10, series creator James Gunn revealed that the "violent vigilante who believes in achieving peace at all costs" was intended for Dave Bautista, who first rose to fame as WWE superstar "Batista" before finding success in Hollywood. The pair previously worked together on "Guardians of the Galaxy," where Bautista played the role of Drax. "I wrote the character of Peacemaker for him and we offered him the role, but he was offered two other movies and we weren't paying him a lot, and so he had to go where the money was," Gunn said. Bautista, who spoke with ComicBook.com while promoting his post-apocalyptic action film "Afterburn," said that it was a scheduling issue since he was filming "Army of the Dead" at the time but that he thinks Cena was the perfect choice. "It was a blessing in disguise that I didn't do ['Peacemaker'], because I have to say, I have to be honest, there's no way that I would have been able to do that role like John," Bautista said. "He's just perfect for it, you know, and I wouldn't have done it justice, and it wouldn't have been as successful." Gunn said that once Bautista confirmed he couldn't do the part, he decided to set up a meeting with Cena, being a fan of his work in the film "Trainwreck." "I thought he was so, so funny in that movie. We talked. We became instant, instant friends, and then since then, I've worked with him more than any other actor because I've done two seasons of 'Peacemaker,' 'Suicide Squad' and we're gonna be doing more together. He is a fantastic guy, a fantastic actor." Cena stars in "Peacemaker" alongside Danielle Brooks, Freddie Stroma, Chukwudi Iwuji, Jennifer Holland, Steve Agee and Robert Patrick. The last Batista match in WWE was at WrestleMania 35 in 2019 against Triple H.
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