In Paul Feig's movie Jackpot!, John Cena plays a bodyguard of a young woman (Awkwafina) who wins the lottery.
It is almost like a twist from the Purge movies or John Wick 3. Awkwafina's character, Kate, is on the run after winning a life-changing amount of money.
While she could leave San Fransisco forever and vacate the money, she ultimately decides to fend off her challengers with help from Cena.
Would Jackpot! director Paul Feig run or fight?
For Feig, a charming and calming presence, he acknowledges that he could not fight his way out of this situation. “I would love to fight my way through it, but I don't think I could,” he confessed with a chuckle. “So I think I'd probably just run for the edge of town.”
If not Cena, Feig would want Spy star Jason Statham to protect him from the onslaught. When asked which of his past stars he would choose as his bodyguard, he did not even hesitate before choosing Statham.
It is a fair pick. Statham is known for his work in the action genre and movies like The Transporter, Crank, and The Beekeeper. He also stars in the Fast and Furious franchise.
“Nora (Awkwfina), even though she is in action movies, she's not usually in a heavy action role,” Feig explained. “So that was exciting for me knowing that John and Simu [Liu] were experts at it, but I didn't want Nora to be an expert at it because Katie's not an expert at all.
“She is literally thrown into a situation [and] she doesn't know what to do other than stage fighting that she's learned, which is useless, as we all know,” he added, laughing.
Jackie Chan vs. Bruce Lee
Paul Feig compared it to a Jackie Chan movie, where he is usually reluctant to fight. Unlike Bruce Lee, who is a “badass” to Feig, Chan is “always in over his head, and he's always just trying to keep people away from him versus going in and wanting to kick ass.”
This dynamic works in a movie like Jackpot!'s favor. Feig wanted his latest project to feel like a Chan movie for its relatability to the audience.
“I think that's a relatable thing for an audience because you go, ‘Oh gosh, if I was in that situation, I would probably be reacting the exact same way,'” Feig said. “So I think it makes it a lot more fun, and it works well for the chemistry.”
Praise for John Cena
People my age likely grew up watching John Cena run the WWE. He was the biggest face in the company for over a decade. However, he has since gone Hollywood and announced his in-ring retirement at the 2024 Money in the Bank PLE.
Early in his career, he had roles in WWE-produced movies like 12 Rounds and The Marine. Over the last decade, Cena has begun expanding his portfolio with roles in Trainwreck and Sisters. These movies showed his comedic side before he got to lead Blockers.
In the years since, Cena has starred in F9, The Suicide Squad, Vacation Friends, Barbie, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, Argylle, and now Jackpot!
Feig had high praise for his Jackpot! star. He was “surprised” by how prepared and willing Cena was when he showed up to the set. This allowed Feig to give Cena alternate lines for jokes.
“Weirdly, we [almost] shot [the movie] in order, so the first time he was on set was when he first drops through the ceiling [of] the yoga studio and starts kicking ass,” Paul Feig recalled. “And so immediately, I was just feeding him new lines because he really wanted to have alternate jokes and wanted to have the ability to be as funny as possible. So I was immediately like, This is going to be the greatest thing ever because he is in it to win it.
“Try anything, there's nothing [where] he's like, ‘No. That's too dumb,' which you will sometimes get with people, especially if they are coming from an action star persona that they are trying to guard. So he was a dream,” Feig concluded.
Jackpot! will be streaming on Prime Video on August 15.
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