John Cena & Zac Efron to Team on Amazon for Comedy 'Ricky Stanicky' for Director of 'Dumb and Dumber'

by Darian Scalamoni

    Amazon keeps on making purchases to beef up their content output, but this time, they're bringing in one pro wrestler and one playing one for the movies. According to an exclusive from Deadline, Zac Efron (The Greatest Showman, Firestarter) and John Cena (Peacemaker, The Suicide Squad) will star in Ricky Stanicky for director Peter Farrelly (Green Book, Dumb and Dumber).

    Cena and Efron will star alongside Jermaine Fowler in the story of three friends who invent a character named Ricky Stanicky to help them get out of messy predicaments before having to hire an actor to portray their fictional friend when people in their respective lives become suspicious. It's a great premise and with Cena's great comedy chops as well as the additions of Efron and Fowler, it seems to be a great team in place for this movie to work on Amazon. Ricky Stanicky marks the return to R-rated comedy genre following his last film effort for AppleTV+, The Greatest Beer Run Ever which also starred Efron and Russell Crowe. Previously, Farrelly directed Best Picture winner, Green Book. Ricky Stanicky will begin production later this month in Australia.

    Cena spent 2022 headlining his first television series, Peacemaker for HBO Max which was written and directed by James Gunn. It acted as a spinoff series following Cena's role as the anti-hero in 2021's The Suicide Squad. Cena is also a 16-time WWE World Heavyweight Champion for the biggest pro wrestling company in the world, but recently has turned in more performances on screen than in the ring. Cena will next be seen in Matthew Vaughn's Argylle alongside Henry Cavill, Bryce Dallas Howard and Bryan Cranston. 

    In addition to starring in The Greatest Beer Run Ever, Efron is currently filming The Iron Claw. The A24 drama is based on the tragic true story of the professional wrestling family, The Von Erichs. Efron stars opposite Harris Dickinson, Lily James and The Bear star, Jeremy Allen White. He'll also star in Netflix's film A Family Affair with Nicole Kidman and Joey King later this year.