John Cena and Kevin Hart Starring in ‘The Leading Man’

Writers Jon and Erich Hoeber sold the pitch to Netflix, with Cena and Hart aboard to star and produce the story of an egotistical actor and a secret agent.

(Left) John Cena at the Amazon Upfront on May 13th, 2025. Photo by Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images for Amazon. (Right) Kevin Hart stars in The Roku Channel's 'Die Hart 2: Die Harter.'

Preview:

John Cena and Kevin Hart will star in ‘The Leading Man’.
It’ll follow an action actor who discovers his co-star is a real-life agent.
Jon and Erich Hoeber adapted the script from a comic book.

John Cena and Kevin Hart certainly seem to like the action comedy genre –– and they’ve seen success with it too.

They’ll be hoping for more of that in a new example called ‘The Leading Man’, which, per Deadline, will see them team-up in a way that puts us in mind of Hart’s previous collaborations with Cena’s fellow wrestler-turned-actor Dwayne Johnson.

Central Intelligence

"Saving the world takes a little Hart and a big Johnson."

PG-131 hr 47 minJun 17th, 2016

Watch Central Intelligence Online

It also marks a semi-reunion for Hart and Cena, since the latter popped up on the former’s series ‘Die Hart’, which sees Hart as a version of himself trying to become an action star.

What's the story of ‘The Leading Man’?

John Cena presents the Oscar® for Costume Design during the live ABC telecast of the 96th Oscars® at the Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 10, 2024. Credit/Provider: Richard Harbaugh ©A.M.P.A.S. Copyright: ©A.M.P.A.S.

Jon and Erich Hoeber, whose previous screenplay resume includes the likes of ‘RED’, ‘The Meg’ and ‘My Spy’, are adapting Jeremy Haun and B. Clay Moore’s comic book series about a self-absorbed movie star (Cena) who discovers that his co-star/man in the chair (Hart) is an actual agent.

He’s forced to swallow his pride and accept that action stars aren’t really action heroes… While trying to save the world.

Again, we’re reminded of ‘Central Intelligence’, though in that case it was Hart and Johnson as former high school associates who become wrapped up in Johnson’s latest case as an intelligence operative.

The concept was clearly compelling enough for Netflix, which picked up the project, with the actors jumping aboard to star and produce through their respective companies.

Where else can we see John Cena and Kevin Hart?

Kevin Hart stars in The Roku Channel's 'Die Hart 2: Die Harter.'

Cena most recently appeared in Amazon MGM action comedy ‘Heads of State’, which debuted on Prime Video.

He’s lining up ‘Little Brother', a Netflix comedy where he’ll star opposite Eric André, and will next be on our screens for the second season of HBO Max series ‘Peacemaker’, set in the DC universe. That debuts later this month.

Coming up, he has action pic ‘Matchbox’, which adapts the popular car toys and the resurrected release of Looney Tunes-based comedy ‘Coyote vs. Acme’, both due next year.

Hart, last seen in ‘Borderlands’, is filming ‘72 Hours’, a Netflix comedy directed by Tim Story, where he’ll star alongside Marcello Hernández and Mason Gooding.

When might ‘The Leading Man’ be on Netflix?

According to Deadline’s report, this one is in early development, so while it’ll likely hit a fast track, the lack of a director means it’ll have to wait a little bit to learn when it might hit the streaming giant’s servers.