‘Pluribus’ creator details John Cena cameo: ‘Just the coolest guy’
Despite his busy schedule, John Cena was able to make some time for a cameo in the hit new Apple TV series “Pluribus.”
The “Pluribus” episode that debuted last week featured an appearance by Cena, who gave a three-minute speech explaining a key plot point in the sci-fi series. The previous episode, the main character of the show found out that the alien hivemind that has taken over Earth is consuming human remains for sustenance. Cena, on behalf of the hivemind, gave a three-minute speech explaining that this was the easiest way to keep themselves alive without doing any harm.
Speaking with Deadline, show creator Vince Gilligan detailed why the soon-to-retire WWE star Cena was the right choice for this role.
“We just thought, ‘Who better than John Cena to make palatable the idea of eating human flesh, you know?’,” Gilligan said. “Boy, that guy has a schedule. That guy is a busy guy, and he was nice enough to shoot this thing…
“He was just the coolest guy. And it was one of those things: Who would [be] someone who would delight the audience when he or she popped up to explain why humanity now lives off of protein from human bodies? It’s such a non sequitur, and yet, in a way, it’s not because he just has this personality and [with] everything that he does you find him likable and you find him trustworthy; you think, ‘Man, I’d like to have a beer with that guy.’ So why shouldn’t he explain why human-derived protein is the way to go for humanity now? He actually made it sound pretty reasonable, and that was the intention, and it just made us laugh when we thought of having him do it. And luckily, he said yes.”
“Pluribus” is the latest critically praised series from Gilligan, the creator of “Breaking Bad” and co-creator of “Better Call Saul.” It stars Emmy nominee Rhea Seehorn in the lead role.
Cena is now just days away from his WWE retirement match. For the last time ever as an active competitor, he’ll step into a WWE ring when he battles Gunther at Saturday Night’s Main Event on December 13. Hollywood will be his main focus after wrestling, but Cena will still remain with WWE as an ambassador.
Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.