John Cena will next be seen reprising his role as Christopher Smith in Peacemaker Season 2, but shortly after he first played the DC hero, he starred in an action thriller that just got an exciting streaming update. Cena stars alongside Alison Brie in Freelance, the 2023 action comedy following an ex-special forces operative who takes a security job for a journalist to interview a dictator, but things go sideways fast when a coup breaks out. Freelance is currently streaming on Hulu, but Netflix has confirmed that it will begin streaming on the platform on August 2. Critics were particularly harsh on Freelance, rating it 11% on Rotten Tomatoes, but fans gave the film a 78% on the audience-driven Popcornmeter. However, it grossed only $10 million against a $40 million budget, making it a major flop.
Jacob Lentz wrote the script for Freelance, and Pierre Morel directed the film. Lentz is best known for his work as a scribe on Jimmy Kimmel Live! Show, where he’s written over 1,000 episodes. As for Morel, he directed one of the most iconic action movies of all time, Taken. The 2008 Liam Neeson-led film came just a few years after Morel made his directorial debut on District B-13, and he followed that with From Paris with Love, an action film starring John Travolta. Freelance came around the same time that John Cena starred in Vacation Friends 2, a raunchy comedy that’s currently streaming on Hulu. It was also the same year that he played mermaid Ken in Barbie, the blockbuster box office hit starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling.
John Cena Has a Few Big Projects Coming Up
John Cena’s biggest project on the slate is Matchbox, the action film based on the popular line of toy cars from Mattel. Matchbox being fast-tracked certainly has something to do with the success of Barbie, but only time will tell if Matchbox can even tangentially live up to the lofty expectations set by its predecessor. Jessica Biel, Corey Stoll, and Sam Richardson are also due to star in Matchbox, with Sam Hargrave (Extraction) directing. Cena will also be seen in Coyote vs. Acme, the once-axed film that has now been set for release in 2026. Cena’s DC cohort, James Gunn, wrote the script for the film.
Freelance begins streaming on Netflix on August 2. Stay tuned to Collider for more streaming updates and coverage of Cena’s future projects.
Freelance
Release Date
October 27, 2023
Runtime
109 Minutes
