WWE headliner-turned-actor John Cena is teaming up with Jason Bateman for a Netflix action comedy.
Cena will star in the untitled project, which Bateman will direct. Sources say Bateman will also appear in the project.
The action comedy reteams Bateman with Mark Perez, the writer of his 2018 sleeper hit Game Night.
This new project definitely has a Game Night vibe to the plot. The story centers on a family that gets stuck in an old abandoned movie studio. The sets come to life and the family members find themselves stuck in various films.
Bateman is producing with Michael Costigan, his partner at Aggregate Films, which has a production deal with Netflix. Also producing are Joe Roth and Jeff Kirschenbaum.
Cena is coming off of a key turn in Paramount’s Bumblebee movie and has the action pic Project X-Traction, with Jackie Chan, in postproduction. The actor is also prepping for the family comedy Playing With Fire, which is set to begin shooting Feb. 4. He is repped by ICM Partners.
Perez is writing a Carmen Sandiego adaptation for Netflix that will star Gina Rodriguez. In addition to penning Game Night, he wrote the college comedy Accepted. He, too, is repped by ICM, as well as by Hansen Jacobson.
Bateman currently stars on Netflix’s Ozark and has directed numerous episodes of the Emmy-nominated show. He made his feature directorial debut with the 2013 comedy Bad Words. Bateman is repped by CAA, Lighthouse Management and Hansen Jacobson.
