Mark Millar Wants John Cena to Star in Superior Movie Adaptation

Mark Millar’s material is highly popular in the pages of comic books and highly sought after for big-budget Hollywood adaptations. Several of his books have made the transition including Wanted, Kick-Ass, Kingsman: The Secret Service (which is getting a sequel), perhaps most famous of all was his work on Marvel’s Civil War series. Superior, from Icon Comics — Marvel’s creator owned branch — is another that has been in adaptation limbo for a few years now.

Superior is the story of a 12-year old boy, who was popular and athletic before being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. He idolizes a comic-book hero named Superior, and uses his one wish (granted by a demon masquerading as a space monkey) to become said hero. In 2011, rights to the limited series were bought by Matthew Vaughn, who has directed other Millar properties Kick-Ass and Kingsman: The Secret Service.

But things fell quiet on the Superior front until 2014 when Fox acquired the rights with Vaughn attached as a producer. After another two years of silence on the project, in January 2016 Variety reported that Fox had brought Brandon Murphy and Phillip Murphy on board as the writing team. Just this week, Millar took to Twitter (h/t ScreenGeek) after being smitten with John Cena’s performance in Trainwreck. Millar believes he’s found the perfect person to play Superior.

https://twitter.com/mrmarkmillar/sta...rc=twsrc%5Etfw

Cena is a WWE superstar who has been able to successfully navigate moving between wrestling and Hollywood. Having moved away from earlier action flicks like The Marine and 12 Rounds, Cena has been seen flexing his comedy chops with small roles in Trainwreck, Daddy’s Home, and Sisters. He transitions from serious wrestler to funnyman effortlessly and his broader appeal would be welcomed in Hollywood if his busy WWE schedule allowed for it. Screen Rant interviewed John Cena last year about his desire to get into comedy but he maintains that wrestling is still his first love.

As the Superior series progresses, we see the main character, Simon Pooni, go from helpless to hero stumbling through all the awkward moments in between. The seven-issue series is much more about a kid coming to grips with his new reality than it is about parading around the world as a superhero. With Millar speaking to the powers that be on Cena’s behalf, only time will tell if Fox reaches out to the WWE golden boy. But with the project on the table since 2011, fans shouldn’t hold their breath.